The Jas Johal Show: Sept. 16, 2026

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1:03Hey, thanks for listening to the Jazz Juhl-Schel podcast today on the pod. Mayors from across BC are at UBCM this week with one message for Victoria. Write the rules on eScooters and write them ones for everybody. Five years of pilot projects and counting, what's the hold up? Plus, the Premier has the eight campaign manager, Elections BC's booking school gyms and hiring staff. Candidates have been told to clear the next two months. And David Eamy says he has nothing to announce. Sure, he doesn't. Plus, 9 MLA's gone 10 points behind polls, and a Premier who won't rule out a snap election, Peter Milibar has seven of those defectors and a party with no name. Is he building a contender? Peter Milibar drops by, plus he dropped out of grade 10, sold his guitar to eat, and bust Granville Island for change. Call on James on his new memoir and the year is nobody's song. That's all next on the Jazz Juhl-Schel podcast. Let's talk about eScooters. That's a topic that we spent a lot of time on on this show. A topic we spent a lot of time talking about because, well, it's front and center when it comes to the issue of public safety.

2:05Patrick Johnston ruled up on his own news conference yesterday on an electric kick scooter, point made. The New Westminster Mayor is at UBCM this week pushing a resolution that would force the province to set up, set one set of rules for kick scooters instead of the current mess where the law changes. Every time you cross a bridge, meanwhile, the numbers keep climbing. BC Children's Hospital saw 81 scooter-related emergency visits last year, more than double the year before. Most of those kids were too young to be legally be riding. Do you want to be an out of talk about this issue? Is Patrick Johnston, Mayor of New Westminster. Patrick, thank you for dropping by. Oh, thank you for having me and talking about this topic. Yeah, busy day as well. But I'm glad you brought this up yesterday. We spent a lot of time talking about it here. I'm just curious in New Westminster, what are you hearing from citizens before we get into the specifics of the resolution? Well, people are concerned and people don't know what the rules are and people are, yeah, uncertain. When I talk to especially seniors in our community and people who are pedestrians

3:05in our busy urban areas of the city, they're worried. They're concerned. They don't feel safe around these scooters. It's a novel threat to them. It's something new and different. And it also makes people very uncomfortable on sidewalks. And so, and they also see youth riding them in what they see as unsafe ways. They see them using them on roads and they're worried about the health of the youth as well. So, I think there's a lot of concern and there's a lot of uncertainty. And there's a lot of questions about why don't we just do something about it? So, what's the core ask from yesterday's press conference? The core ask from us. The province, back in 2021, decided to launch a pilot project to decide whether they want, how they want to regulate these things. They invited some municipalities to set up local bylaws and they were to test them out for a few years so it worked and then they would bring in legislation, province wide was the idea. And then after three years, they decided to extend that pilot for another four years. And we want them to end that pilot. We want them to say, you know, it's been six years already right now. We think we know what we need to know. I think we're not going to learn anything new in the next couple of years.

4:07It's time for the province to bring in consistent, province wide regulations of these things. And we're not trying to ban them. We don't want to get rid of them. They're here. They're happening. They're going to be part of our transportation matrix. The question is how do we operate them safely? What kind of rules should be in place to make sure they operate safely? What are the rules around helmets? And most importantly, we need consistent rules across the province. We can't have 21 municipalities in the lower mainland with different rules about them. We can't have 160 municipalities across the province all with their own rules. So we need consistent provincial legislation on this. And we also need education and we need clear enforcement guidance for police forces. Why is it taking this long? Why is it taking five years? Have you got any sense of why it's taking this long for this pilot project? I don't understand why it's taking so long. I mean, it's writing legislation. I mean, the Motor Vehicle Act is an old piece of legislation and it is a difficult piece of legislation to update. But I don't know what the delay is. They have a lot of consultation with local government. I think local governments have given all the feedback we can give.

5:08And I appreciate that they've given us that chance and given us that chance to provide feedback of what needs to be done. But it's time to act. I mean, these devices are not going away. They're only changing and evolving. They're getting faster. I mean, I think to many people's seeing that they're getting more dangerous. So we need action. Yeah. We cover the issue a lot here. And it really struck me again on Monday. I was driving up to Cologne to speak to the BC Roadbuilders. I'm going to call the Coca-Halla. Just had left hope. And there's somebody heading in my direction, but on the side of the highway on an e-scooter. And I just said, this is without a helmet by the way. Yeah. And I kind of go, we are so, like legislation is so far behind in grips with where the public is and where technology is. I mean, that's part of the issue, isn't it? It's just we struggle with it. And it's even talking to our Biola officers and our police. They're not really sure where the regulation is. I mean, frankly, e-scooter on the freeway is illegal.

6:10I'm sure it's illegal. Somewhere in the motor vehicle act, they can find a way to make that illegal. But they just don't know where the enforcement powers are and it's inconsistent. And a lot of times, and you see this in our communities, you see it's youth. You see 10-year-olds running around in these electric scooters. And do we really want police giving tickets, giving a $150 ticket to a 10-year-old? Is that help? We need education. We need some, but we can't even educate about safe use of these things until we understand what the laws are and what the rules are. Now, when I'm downtown after work, or I see a lot of them, of course, obviously, lots of e-scooters here downtown. And sometimes they'll be home even on the art gallery property, whizzing through people, which they shouldn't be doing. But at least downtown has sort of set bike lanes. There is a built infrastructure because of the density here. And I would argue, US Minster has a lot of density as well. But when I look at both cities, in this case, downtown and Kervivrs is US Minster or some other suburb, it's the East Gooder issue one would argue,

7:13especially with the roadways that traditionally built. They're not built in any cases with a bicycle lane where you separate them. I mean, can we actually do this properly? Because I look at the US, you're a busy city, lots of density, but you don't have set bike lanes as prescribed as downtown. Yeah, we have some. We're trying to build a network. And this is part of the reason why we're trying to build a cycling network. So there is actually a place for these devices to go. We don't want to ban these devices. They serve a lot of people's purposes. They're an efficient way to get around. They could be a safe way to get around if they're well regulated. They can drive people to using more transit, which is good for the region. There is good reasons to support them, but we need to do it in a way that's safe and regulated. Our motion, the reason we brought this up, this is coming up right now, is US Minster brought a motion to EBCM Resolution asking for clearance consistent rules and for the end of the pilot project. The city of Langley also brought a resolution. And their resolution asks for an update of the Motor Vehicle Act to make it clear what belongs in a bike lane and what belongs in a mobility lane. So the Motor Vehicle Act has clear language about these types of devices

8:17belong in bike lanes because again, that's not clear in the legislation right now. So that makes enforcement really difficult for both by-law officers and police. Where do they belong? It's unclear if they belong in bike lanes or not because the Motor Vehicle Act is silent on it. At the same time, you don't want the one sidewalks either. You absolutely don't want them out. I mean, we don't want them. Well, there's an argument. Maybe we do want them on sidewalks. If they're tightly speed regulated and only moving at 10 kilometers an hour, maybe there is a safe way for them to operate on sidewalks. If they're speed regulated and operated safely, there are places where that makes sense. Multi-use paths where you're going to want to be sharing pedestrians and bike lanes. When you rent an E-bike from Lyme in US Minster and you ride that bike onto a multi-use path in a park, it automatically speed governs itself and slows down to pedestrian speed. So we can go 30 kilometers an hour when it's on the road, but when it's on a multi-use path, it speed regulates down to 10 or 15 kilometers an hour. That kind of technology is possible. Let's make it happen. I mean, I don't want to be over-prescriptive.

9:17I want the rules that we can just enforce the rules and so we can start educating youth and parents about the rules. Speaking to Patrick Johnson, Mayor of New West, Minster, we're talking about e-scooters and pushed by mayors like Mr. Johnson and Councillors. Wanting to see a province-wide legislation rather than a patchwork of rules, municipality because this is an issue in many communities. We hear this on the open line. We'll have to hear from you. What do you think regulation should be focusing upon? Is it actually banning some of these e-mobility devices or is it a question of focusing them on or pushing them towards bike lanes? Or should they be on sidewalks as well? 604, 602, 7373? Let's go to Jim and Burnaby. Hi, Jim. Hey, Jazz. Love your show. I'm legally blind and work a guide dog. He's other. I saw a lot of other blind and people either using white gangs or guide dogs around the province. E-scooters, we ban totally from sidewalks

10:18because we can't see. We don't, we in. I don't know how much noise they make, but we don't want to. Have you heard of people that have had challenges or have been hit potentially? You don't. Okay. That's what scares me because our dogs are worth between $35,000 to $40,000 to train. Yeah. So if a dog gets wiped out or we get wiped out, it can be serious injury. Yeah. As I said, we don't want to hear them until the arm was turned on top of us. Yeah. Jim, thank you for your call. Really appreciate it. It goes back to Patrick, you're seeing earlier in regards to concern seniors. Let's go to Michael in Bernabé. Hi, Michael. Hi. I don't think E-bike should be banned. I think anything that gets people to do something other than driving a car is a good thing. And, you know, from the safety aspect, if you look at the data, it's tens of people just in Vancouver per year are killed by cars. And I know, you know,

11:19E-bikes, they certainly have their own safety issues, but they're not killing as many people as cars are. And if you get hit with a bike, yeah, it can be really bad, but it's still not as bad as getting hit by a car. So, you know, for that and a lot of other reasons, like, you don't have the best public transportation system in the world. So, you know, if bikes are a way to get people out of cars and fewer cars on the road, then I think that's a good thing. Patrick, your thoughts? Yeah. I somewhat agree. Yeah. I mean, I don't think it's a matter of banning. I think that it's a matter of finding responsible ways to use them and finding a place for them. I agree. I mean, we, I said earlier, it's a bit of a novel threat. It's new to people and that makes it very unsettling and makes people feel unsafe on sidewalks. I think you're right. There are three or three people a year in British Columbia, killed in automobile incidents. And that's a tragedy. I have a road traffic death is a tragedy. So, I mean, I think the scale compared to that is smaller, but the issue is, the cars aren't mostly for the good luck driving on the sidewalk.

12:22And we heard the earlier caller speaking about like, I mean, guide dogs are probably not trained in how to deal with this novel threat. That's not something they're used to. So, I think there's a place for them in our transportation matrix. I think it's an important part of our transportation matrix, but right now, a completely unregulated wild west, you know, the roads in the wild west weren't safe either. And having a wild west on the sidewalks is not getting making anyone feel safer. And it's actually going to make it harder for us as a society to adopt these kind of innovative changes in transportation if we don't have good solid regulation that keeps people safe and makes people comfortable around them. Certainly shouldn't be taken five years, right? So, let's go to Brenda in Bernabé. Hi, Brenda. Hi, I do think it should be a provincial legislation so that there's one rule across the sea. I think sidewalks should be for pedestrians only. I think psych that are pedal power, whether they're electric or with an electric assist or not, it should be in bike lanes. Same with scooters that are not powerful,

13:24should be, could be in bike lanes. And I think anything where you sit on a scooter or I mean, stand on a scooter or sit on a bike and you don't have to push off or pedal, maybe along on the road. Brenda, thank you for your call. Really appreciate it. It's also what Brenda brings us to when she's talking about, you know, human power and you get some assistance. The technology is moving so quickly, that's part of the challenge, isn't it? Yeah, it's what's out there. It's moving so quickly. There are regulations about ESSIST bicycles in the Motor Vehicle Act. And again, they're a little bit archaic these rules, but they just aren't keeping up with technology. But you're right, pedal assist bikes where you actually have to pedal and get a little bit of boost. Those are treated just like bicycles in the Motor Vehicle Act. They belong in bike lanes. They don't belong inside of walks. They belong on the side of the road or in bike lanes. The idea of having these sit on dirt bikes, essentially, that have 50 horsepower and move at high speeds, those are not meant to be on any roads or on any bike lanes at all. And our challenge again is the regulations are not clearly defining that and the rules aren't clear.

14:26And the rules for people who are purchasing these items aren't clear about where they're legal and not illegal. We were speaking to Patrick Johnson, Mayor of New West, Sminster, we were talking about UBCM this week, Mr. Johnson, along with other counselors and mayors or pushing a resolution that would force the province to set one set of rules for e-scuters instead of the current mess where the law changes as they set every time you cross a bridge. A lot of calls on this issue, so we've moved one of our other segments. And Mr. Johnson is kind of enough to stay a little longer, take some calls as well, because I think it's vitally important as we've had a lot of calls on this issue throughout to BC over the last six months. And 604, 60273736, 604, 6027373, what rules would you like to see if province-wide legislation was brought forward in regards to the use of e-scuters and even eat dirt bikes as well? Let's go to a very patient, Robert, in Bernabé. Hi, Robert, thanks so much for holding on. Hey, jazz, no worries. You know, what concerns me the most is the helmets.

15:31They don't offer any or provide any face protection whatsoever. And most times when people are in accidents on these things, they do a face plant right onto the road. There's a lot of people with maxillofalatial injuries. And really, they have to start changing the configuration or the design of these helmets. Number one, number two, they've got to keep these things off of sidewalks because I've been close to being smoked by a few of these idiots on scooters. And most of them actually are gig workers delivering food. And they're flying up and down the sidewalks consistently. And it's only a matter of time, honestly, until somebody gets killed until they impose strictor laws. Anyways, jazz, love your show, thanks. Thank you so much for calling. I mean, Robert, actually, is a very good point. I sort of think, oh, they're in a helmet, they're fine, but you're absolutely right. I mean, that's another part of the conversation, isn't it? Just protecting the face.

16:32Yeah. And again, bicycle helmets are designed for bicycles. And I think that these devices move people in very different ways, at different speeds, and the way they fall off these devices would be different. And so I have no confidence that the standards they use to make sure bike helmets are effective will work on these things either. That's a whole other area that somebody would have to look at to determine what actually constitutes a safe helmet for these types of devices, because it definitely isn't a bike helmet. Let's go to Doug in Vancouver. Hi, Doug. Hello. Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. Go ahead. Yeah, OK. Yeah, I live in February, because it's having a goal on 10 times and quite a lot. I think these are the issues of the license and shared, because I see 70% of the riders don't wear helmets. And they scream along, and they go through stop signs. They don't respect anybody else with themselves. And I guess the question becomes about, we want to be green, but Canada as a country contributes about 1% of the world's greenhouse gases.

17:34So why are we leaving the drums so loud? It's my question. Doug, thank you for your call. I mean, I want to argue it's an easy way to get around. It moves around quickly. It's different from a bike in a car. So I think there's a net benefit from these mobility devices. It's once again a conversation we had earlier. It's just how fast can government move to deal with some of this. But he reads a very good point. In regards to insurance, should we be demanding people get insurance similar to getting a car insurance? Now, this call of a conversation comes up every once and a while with bicycles as well. Around should people on bicycles have insurance? I guess the situation is the same as with bicycles. And people carry liability insurance, or interest insurance, or carry household insurance. And people are held legally liable for incidents that cause other people, whether they are carrying appropriate insurance or not. Licensing these types of devices is a, I mean, when everyone is trying to do any kind of work around licensing bicycles, it's always

18:36ended up being a big bureaucratic challenge that hasn't really solved the problem. It's not like, we have a lot of people in cars breaking laws every day, and the cars running red lights and speeding and doing these things. And the fact they have insurance and they have licenses on their cars doesn't stop that from happening and doesn't actually improve enforcement at all. So I don't think necessarily it's got, I think that's the solution to the problem. But yeah, I, again, back to clear regulations so people understand what the rules are, and so that police can enforce the rules that do exist. We did have a caller a few months ago who said he was hit and he was at home recovering. And he said, it wasn't sure if you'd be able to work again. And I don't know the extent of his injury, obviously very serious. But you're starting to see some of these especially with head injuries and everything else. And I think it's only a matter of time, as you say, as well, if it's going to be a lot worse, if we don't get on it. Let's go to Karen and Siri. Hi, Karen. Oh, hi, does. I just wanted to bring you to your attention. So last night we had our strata meeting, council meeting. And we've introduced a rule in our complex, no e-scooters allowed.

19:37We have children as young as six and seven years old, riding around who have no helmets on or riding around no parents supervision. It's just out of control. I mean, so many people have almost hit them. Then who's liable, right? We're considering, we did it because we don't want my ability for our owners. And we also want to make sure that the kids are safe. But it's just out of control. It's time to have a one stop shop or rules around the e-scooters on our road. Great. And you know, under 16? No way. What are these parents thinking? Yeah, thank you so much for your call, Karen. I appreciate that. And we saw that in some of the school districts now, as well banning them on school property. And Animos was talking about that, Surrey, as well as Langley, as well. I mean, it's all sort of headed. We're doing it piecemeal, aren't we? Yeah. I saw that last year. I remember last year I was at a meeting at a senior center talking about this exact issue. And then the next day I was at a middle school in Newspinster.

20:37And I saw a bunch of e-scooters stacked up outside the middle school. I'm wondering, wait a minute. None of the kids here are 16 years old. Why are these? Why? I mean, I don't know. Maybe I'm at that age now where I can start to say, you know, when I was in school, I never would have permitted me to bring a motorcycle to a school if I was in 16. So I think school districts are recognizing, again, that they do have a, they can't take a role here. They can reduce the amount of youth using these things and make it harder. But again, for kids who are over 16, and if we have safe rules, you know, cars around schools are a problem as well. It's a traffic problem all the time, and it's a traffic safety problem. And so if kids have a safe alternative to get to school, we should be encouraging that. But I just think again, we're in a wild west mode right now where it's not safe. So I don't know what the line is. So maybe schools are, I don't think they're overreacting. I think they're probably taking your prudent move right now. And maybe we can move to a place where we can have clear legislation and clear rules and clear safety, guidance and education so that kids can use them safely. Yeah. Thank you for your call. Let's go to Wayne and Burnaby.

21:38Hi, Wayne. Hi. Thanks for taking my call. Yeah. I find that there's a real problem with etiquette, even among those who are non-motorized bike riding. So it's not just those who are on e-bikes or scooters. But I've been passed, I have an electric bike. I ride down some trails by streams in Burnaby area here at Coquitmong. And I've had guys on non-motorized bikes just zip past me. Going really fast, no warning. And that's the problem, no warning. No consideration as to maybe that person up ahead of me is hard of hearing or their deaf. Even if they ring their bell, they should still slow down if the person doesn't respond in my opinion. So there does need to be some sort of regulation or rules around it, right? And an etiquette. Yeah, you're absolutely right. People are a little more defensive driving,

22:41rather than offensive driving, because it's just nuts right now. There was that case in North Vancouver. Thank you for your call, there were the parents. The parent, the father here, I think was, was handed a $940 fine. And he didn't complain to accept it. And once it was explained to the, by the office, he can't be doing this. And part of it, I guess, is just those types of stories that you've got to make sure the public understands that you as a parent shouldn't be buying some of these things, right? Especially the dirt bikes we've talked about this in the past. Yeah, and to your point about etiquette, I spoke at the Active Transportation Summit, which is an annual conference for local government folks and government folks who are trying to work on building better active transportation around the province. And I had that conversation with that group. I said, look, you guys on bikes, you people on e-bikes, us people on e-bikes, because I include myself in that. We have a job to do to police ourselves and to make sure that we are acting safely around pedestrians and crosswalks in multi-use paths and stuff,

23:42staying off sidewalks. There's just as cyclists are always irritated by cars cutting them off and making their use of their device less safe, we have to adopt that as users of electronic devices and take the responsibility to educate ourselves and to talk to our own community about safe use of this. Because again, it's a wild west right now. And until we have regulation, until we have clear education around safe use, it's going to continue to be a wild west. We're speaking to Patrick Johnson, mayor of US Minster. We're talking about resolution at UBCM this week, pushing government, provincial government, to set one set of rules for e-scouters instead of the mishmash rules. We have a different municipalities. And what would those rules look like as this technology moves very quickly, 604, 602, 7373? Let's go to Marty and US Minster. Hi, Marty. Hi, Jens. Thanks very much for taking my call. Ironically, when Patrick first started talking, he will know this.

24:43I was driving on 7th Avenue in US Minster. And three young kids came out of the middle school at taking up the entire lane face in the other way, like side by side on their e-scouters, all underage. They did have helmets. But just completely oblivious to any rules of the road. So my main argument here would be that anything on wheels that's on a road, it shouldn't be constrained to quote motor vehicles. It should be what is allowed on the road, number one, in terms of behavior and those rules. And secondly, I think that if they're underage kids, as that kind of stuff, they should have the implement should be taken away. And the parents have to come to the police station and to claim it and pay a fine or whatever. Motorcycles, you can't get on a motorcycle

25:43and drive on the streets without being licensed. I don't know whether licensing is the thing with all these implements. But it should be if you're using the road, you have to follow these rules. It only makes complete sense to me. Marty, thank you for your call. I appreciate that. I'm just curious as a mayor, do you think it's the best use of police time or do you think by law officers should be handling this? I'm just curious. Oh, that's a good question. The difference would be if a by law officer issues a fine, we probably get the fine revenue, or if the police do it, we don't get the fine revenue. But there's always, it's always a fuzzy line between what's regulated by the motor vehicle action, what's regulated by local bylaws. And never the trains should meet. We can't regulate anything that the motor vehicle act regulates. We're actually preventive of doing that. So we're always trying to find out where that gap is. Generally, the motor vehicle act regulates anything on a road and re-regulate anything that's off of a road. So we get a sidewalk or a crosswalk or something like that. How much accountability should we be demanding

26:45from retailers on this? Yeah, that's a good question. We've been talking a lot about the user, the end user of these things. There is no discussion right now about where these things are coming from, who's buying them, how they're selling them. There's a lot of things we regulate at the point of sale, down to, if you want to buy pesticides, if you're back yard garden, it's regulated now and you have to go through, there's a special way to purchase them from the hardware store. So there is an opportunity here for the province to look at regulating at the purchase side. And I think education, education, education, again, I don't think people understand what the rules are or necessarily care about the rules or what the rules are about this right now. So I think we need that work done. Patrick Johnson, we're out of time. Thank you so much for sticking around for the full hour and a lot of calls on this as you really appreciate it. Well, thank you. I've got a quick walk back down to UBCM and let's hope I don't get hit by a scooter. Thanks. Thanks. I get so many headaches every month. It could be chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days

27:45a month, each lasting four hours or more. Botox on a botchaline mtoxin A prevents headaches and adults with chronic migraine. It's not for those who have 14 or fewer headache days a month. Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. The lurcher doctor right away is difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms, and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS, Lugeric's disease, myasthenia, Gravis, or Lambert Eaton syndrome, and medications, including botchaline mtoxins. As these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait, ask your doctor, visit BotoxCronicMyGreen.com, or call 1-800-44 Botox to learn more. Good things come in force, like ukulele strings, boy band members, and PayPal Payin' For.

28:49No fees, no interest, no impact on your credit score, just the flexibility to pay the way that works for you. Strum it, hum it, pay it in four. Download the PayPal app to get started. Subject to approval, learn more at PayPal.com, slash Payin' For. Pay Pallink, NMLS 910457. Time to talk election, yes, provincial election. Not an municipal election provincial, as you know, we had a provincial election in 2024, so we're a couple years into the NDP's mandate, but election speculation is right right now. There's a lot of chatter, and of course, Premier David Eby, a health press conference, and he was asked about a potential provincial election today. All of this, of course, speculational, the speculation based on a couple of things, number one, new polling that shows that the NDP are 10 points ahead of the BC Conservatives, 45 to 35. Polling also has come out looking at the popularity

29:51of Mr. Eby. He has jumped up 10 points. A lot of that is due to, of course, people's views about Donald Trump and Canada's pushback and BC's pushback. He and Doug Ford, Vontario are doing very well, and that's just in a few months, and of course, we've seen a significant amount of MLAs leave the BC Conservatives, nine of them in just three months, and many of them just within a three-week period. And all of this, of course, is telling Mr. Eby that maybe, just maybe, it's time to call an election. He was asked about this earlier today. Let's take a listen to his comments about their potential being a provincial election. Could it happen? Could it be called in the next few weeks? I don't have any election announcements to make. I do recognize that it's important for British Columbians to be able to have a save over the direction of our province, given the incredible disruption that Donald Trump has brought to our economy and to our politics here in the province,

30:52but not again, announcements today about election dates. So what we're focused on is ensuring that our provinces is focused in the right direction to respond to these threats, supporting businesses, and British Columbians through this tumultuous time. So there you go. He's laid it out in regards to why he believes there could be an election, right? And the reasons that he would use in Trump, of course, being the number one reason. Of course, what this also means is that he's seeing his opponents, in this case, the BC conservatives, in an absolute mess, a complete mess with seven MLAs already banding together, saying that they're going to create their own party, that is a centrist, but a free enterprise alternative to the NDP that isn't interested in culture wars led by Peter Millibar, who, by the way, is going to drop by the show at 430 to talk a little bit about all that's occurring here. And what we also know, elections, BC has confirmed, confirmed that they have moved

31:53to what they're calling an increased readiness state. That means restocking supplies, preparing to recruit election officials and ask school districts about space, the Victoria School District, has confirmed it has been put on notice in regards to a potential, a potentially looking for space. We also learned that multiple would be candidates and campaign managers have been told, or say, that the NDP has asked them to keep the next two months open. Now, Premier David Eby has also confirmed that he does have a potential campaign manager, who is his former chief of staff, Cheryl Oats. He talked to us about that issue today, earlier today, in press conference, let's take a listen. Cheryl was my chief of staff on an interim basis, because Jim Rachevsky had to step down with cancer. And we're, we missed Jim and we're cheering him on. And really appreciate Cheryl stepping in. I shared with our caucus, Windshell, that stepped down, that she would ultimately be the manager of the campaign,

32:57whenever our next election campaign is in British Columbia. I worked very well with Cheryl. She's run campaigns across the country. And I have great faith in her ability to run a campaign like that. We have continually told Elections BC, I tell my caucus all the time that we need to be election ready. We have a one vote majority. One of our MLA's Joan Philip tragically passed away this summer. And we have two MLA's with cancer. We have a one vote majority. And so we're election ready as the NDP. Elections BC should be election ready. And I see the conservatives are having a lot of discussions about their own internal work. But for us, we remain focused on responding to the threat of Donald Trump's trade war against British Columbia. And that's important work for us for British Columbia.

33:57So there you go. He's laying it all out. We need stability. I only have a small majority, a one seat majority. And Donald Trump has declared economic war on BC. And I need a stronger majority. I need stability in this province. So I have to go and get a mandate from the public. Of course, we all know he's doing very well in regards the polling numbers, not only province wide, but especially in Metro Vancouver, which will lead to, if the numbers hold, a significant majority government for the NDP. Why would he do this? Well, we look at it for a second. There's not much to really sell the NDP on at the moment. It really is. The deficits are significant. We've got wait times in hospitals. We've got emergency rooms shut down over weekends and smaller communities and the suburbs here in Vancouver as well. There's not a lot to point to when it comes to the economy where things are going well. And people are frustrated. Sector's aren't doing well. We could potentially see more sawmill shutting down in this province as well. And the other reason that Mr. Ebi didn't touch on there,

34:59of course, that he almost lost the last election. A few hundred more votes, by about three or four hundred more votes and a few key writings. And we would have had a BC conservative government. And we would have been talking about Premier John Rostad. Well, that didn't happen. Mr. Ebi's not going to make the mistake twice. But my question to you, especially with an opposition now that has lost nine MLAs and a career than Finley, its support has dropped significantly by almost 10 points. Is there a viable alternative to an NDP party that perhaps you're not happy with them? Who would you vote for? Time for a reset when it comes to BC politics. It's 430. You know, I went up to it, everybody. Here's where we sit at this moment. And it changes every minute. David Ebi has a campaign manager. Cheryl Oates, his former interim chief of staff, is now running the next NDP campaign. The Premier talked about that today. Elections BC is stocking supplies and asking Victoria schools about space. Candidates are being told to keep the next two months open. David Ebi, although says he has no announcement to make. Nobody believes that means nothing is coming.

36:01And why would he wait? Well, nine MLAs have walked out on Curie Lymphin, Lee Since May, the latest Ipsos poll has the Conservatives at 35%. 10 points back to the NDP and eight points below where they were, where they finished in 2024. Seven of those nine are now sitting with Peter Millibar in a party that yet does not have a name. If the writ drops next month, the can Mr. Millibar organized fast enough to give voters a real alternative. What do you mean now to talk about this issue? Is Peter Millibar in term leader of this new party that does not have a name yet? And he's also an independent MLA from the Camelops area. Peter, good to see you. Thanks for dropping by. Absolutely, first time in studio. So, yeah, yeah. Always on the phone. Good to see you. Are you operating on the assumption there's a fall election coming? Yeah, at first I thought it was a long shot, but it's becoming more and more apparent that Mr. Ebi is pretty worried about what's being created and the momentum that's starting to grow behind myself and my six other colleagues. You know, at UBCM everywhere around,

37:03it has just been a constant cavalcade of people saying, thank you. This is exactly what we need. There's no way the NDP isn't saying, hearing the same thing and I'm actually hearing it directly from NDPM at least as well, that they know that there's a big groundswell. So, this seems to be an exercise in avoidance of a surge versus what's happening with the conservative party right now. Okay. As you know very well, there's politics which we see in the legislature in regards to, you know, critic roles, question period, all the things that the public see. But also politics is really about constituency associations, election readiness, fundraising, messaging, all those things that generally the public doesn't know much about. When you're a party at this point that does not have a name, no approved registration, don't have a candidate slayed outside the seven writing, so far, I mean, what would a campaign look like for you? Yeah, I mean, let's be clear, the conservative party right now has very little of that as well. And so, you know, that drop in the polls happened,

38:05you know, we've only been talking about doing this for three weeks and without any of that infrastructure you're talking about. So, there drop in the poll is all on them. And there's nothing to do with us at this point. They're not better, you don't think they're better prepared than you at this point? No, I know they're not. You know, they fired all their staff, they've even fired some of the staff they hired on for the fired staff, you know, fundraising has dried up. So, it's a big problem for them. And I said that when I left that, you know, they're not going to form government. And so, we're building something that's focused on giving the public that opportunity to place their vote. There's a lot of momentum, there's a hell of a lot of work to do. But we're doing that. The nice thing is we're taking decisive action, we're taking a lot of steps. We already have candidate selection happening quietly behind the scenes. We have policy development happening behind the scenes while we're doing other things, because we don't have that luxury of time. So, we're taking decisive steps and decisive decision making. The good news for the public in that, is it's going to demonstrate very clearly

39:07that we know how to take decisive action once we form government so that we can actually start correcting the mess of the NDP. So, you have somebody working behind the scenes to build up writing associations right now with presidents and all of that sort of thing? We were originally targeting presidents and writing associations. Obviously, if we have to jump to basically election readiness, instead we shifted our focus to start working on candidate approval and identification right away. We have very skilled experienced people working on that. And so, we have a lot more support and depth out there than people might realize. It's just everyone's been focusing on the fact that our name is being hung up by election and the rules that elections we see has to operate under. So, we'll get to that name in a second. But when you say you'll be choosing candidates, is a question of you just deciding what candidates are going to go and just choose? I mean, you don't have time for writing battles or anything like that. You're just going to choose your candidate, am I correct? That's correct. We don't have time for, I mean, this is a unique situation. We don't have time for, and obviously, the Premier can't be trusted to wait for the schedule election

40:10in 2028 because he's worried about his own electoral success or not if he ran full term. So, we don't have that luxury of time. We don't have the luxury of time, same with the leader. In terms of a leadership race or anything like that, you obviously don't have that time. So, we're adapting and we're making decisive decisions moving forward in a very methodical way quickly with purpose. And again, I think the public will start to realize as we get into a campaign that that's what you need as a government as well. What can a candidate are you looking for? I mean, I know Free Enterprise Center right. Is there any room for those who maybe concerned about social issues, some would argue culture wars? Do you want that type of candidate at all? Absolutely. We need to have a broad spectrum of people. It's what you focus on your non-stop advocacy or think that that's all government should focus on when it becomes a problem, when it's a disproportionate focus versus having that broad spectrum of views in a caucus room. As you well know, having a wide range of views

41:11is actually better reflective of the public in British Columbia. But we need to make sure that we are that broad-based party where federal liberals see a place for themselves, where federal conservatives see a place for themselves. And then we work through the policy and in a productive way moving forward, as you should in a healthy party, unlike what I've experienced over the last while. This is a coalition party. There will be federal liberal, but people who lean federal liberal and people who lean federal conservative. This is not a conservative party. Absolutely. It's the only way you can govern in British Columbia. And it's actually reflective of the population in British Columbia. And that's what we need to be. And that's why I've said, you know, we don't need a name that has conservative or liberal in it because we need to unshackle ourselves from those federal fights. And the upswing of popularity of one leader or another and then a downswing of their popularity, that's not good for governance in British Columbia. We can let the federal politicians fight the federal fights. That's what we all elect them to do and pay them very well to do that. And we can focus in on the provincial priorities

42:14and interests on benefit of British Colombians. You have no money at this point, right? You're not raising money per se as a party because you don't have a party yet. You're not registered. Are you gonna have candidates in every writing or one would argue? Just focus on the lower main land in regards to geography in regards to saving money or are you hoping to have candidates in every writing? Well, you want to have candidates in every writing. And I mean, you can run lower cost writings in terms of signage packages and really grassroots it in terms of door knocking and data handling that you do for voter ID. Look, I'm under no illusions. This is a massive hurdle to overcome. But let's be clear, the Conservative Party of BC is gonna get wiped out in this election whether we run or not and we need to give British Colombians a fighting chance to feel confident that there's a serious, credible option to the NDP or to the Conservative Party. This is a bit of a wing in a prayer in the sense that you're just hoping that the non-NDP vote looks over at Carrie Lynn Finley going, that's Maga Maple. Those folks are fighting culture wars.

43:14This is not about the economy or else can I park my vote? I'm gonna potentially park it with Peter Milbar. You're trying to be sort of the Gordon Wilson of the early 1990s where people are so frustrated with both parties and they started looking towards Mr. Wilson at that time. Are you hoping for that type of moment that there's a flashpoint is somewhere going? I'm tired of the NDP in these deficits. I'm not voting for this party who is hard right and you're saying over here where the alternative, you're waiting for that flashpoint at that moment. Yeah, I think that flashpoint's coming and I think it's already building. People are very excited again. It's not just me, it's all nine MLAs, including the two that haven't joined us yet are experiencing the same thing. Ian Patens getting a standing ovation at the Laddner Chamber Commerce the other day. And even in Prince George Rosalind Bird's getting nonstop. Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing what you did and standing up for your principles and giving us some other option.

44:15We're hearing it across the province. And yeah, it's a hill to climb. But when people actually really want to rally around something and are truly frustrated with nine years of NDP and competence, it's not an impossible thing. It's just that it's going to take a lot of decisive decision making and everyone actually pulling in the same direction. And that is actually what is starting to happen. We are speaking to Peter Millibar and Term Leader of a new party that does not have a name. I'm always looking to say something, but I can't yet. That is the state of BC politics right now. But Mr. Millibar does say the party will have a name before that election is called. We don't know when the Ritz going to drop. And Mr. E.B. has said he doesn't know either. If he's going to move forward, but we can say elections, BC is stalking supplies. It asks Victoria schools about space potentially. And some NDP candidates have been told to keep the next two months open as well. So the drum beat continues. I'm not sure if he's going to go, but boy, sure looks like it. Our guest is Peter Millibar. Peter, one of the other issues here at its core is the name.

45:22Now, I just want to clarify this. You said in the past, it's not going to have conservative in it. It's not going to have liberal in it. If an election is called, let's say next two weeks or so, what happens? Well, we're still working through that. Our understanding is that elections BC can't process the paperwork for final approval while a by-election is happening or a provincial election. So that gets a little more dicey if the by-election doesn't get to run its course. And the premier decides to pull political games to save his own skin and try to block us from actually getting access to elections BC to approve our name and calling the election before the by-election is even over. Let's just think of the absurdity all of this. It's less than two years into their mandate. They have a majority. They're likely to win the Abbott's for admission riding. It should give them a five-seat majority because let's assume the by-election for Joan Phillips safest enemy seat in the country goes to the NDP. That's a five-seat majority. Less than two years into your mandate. And you're rushing to have an early election that steps

46:25on top of a municipal election at the exact same time when there's critical issues in all these cities across BC and there's legitimate marriages happening in Vancouver and Surrey and Richmond and other major centers around this province. That's how desperate this premier is starting to sound simply because he's worried about an upstart political party. You've been a finance critic for a long time and you know the numbers well, you know budgets well. You know when I look at this and part of this is me saying, you know, you know, why would you wait till the spring potentially? Why go now with the municipal elections occurring? And then it's what when you think about it, you're potentially going to see more sawmills closing probably in this province. You just saw I had a fiscal update and it's $13.8 billion including miscalculation when it comes to natural gas revenue. You're probably going to have another credit downgrade. That's what my gut tells me, right? And you would know better. Those three elements alone means there's no good economic story to tell when it comes to BC at this moment.

47:26So one would argue just based on that, pull the trigger and go. Well, I get that, but two weeks ago he said that British Columbians wanted a government focused on helping them and now he's suddenly looking to pull the trigger on an election. Again, if he does it, let's face it, it's a two or three day people mad that he called an early election and then people get all with their life and start focusing on the election. I'm a realist, but it just strikes to how poorly they are performing as a government and how desperate he actually is and how little confidence he has, he can actually turn things around over the next two years. If he thought he had a way to turn this province around over the next two years, he wouldn't worry about an election right now. He would run out his mandate and be confident enough in his own abilities as a premier to actually deliver a successful election during the fixed election law that we have in British Columbia. Again, it just strikes as weakness and fear on the premier's part that he's desperate that he's trying to avoid literally an upstart political party

48:26and just still trying to get his name registered with elections PC. We've got a minute left, but I want to confirm this. So you've got people working behind the scenes on constituency associations. If election is called, you'll have all of them focus on the election. You're going to be appointing candidates. You're already, I guess, deciding on certain candidates, is that fair to say? Yeah, well, maybe making those decisions in very short order is it will be outlined with the timeline of when he calls an election or not. We're not going to rush up the door. Do you want to be running all candidates in every riding? Why not just focus on the lower main lead? It's easier, it's simpler, especially when you're drinking water from a fire hose right now, the way things are going. Yeah, I mean, we have a strategy in place and we'll follow that and we'll keep adapting. I mean, we've done a credible amount of work in three weeks time. Again, that's all we've been working on this. And we've come a long, long way. So we're confident that we will give people that credible legitimate option around the province to have faith that their vote will count, be meaningful,

49:26have a serious government and will be able to unseat the NDP and turn this province around. And that decisive steps we've taken over the last three weeks will be a good proof point that we're willing to do that once we're in government as well. You know, if you'd told me three months ago, things were changing to the point where you'd have nine MLAs leave. I wouldn't believe you. It wouldn't believe you that be seven MLAs already for an party who could potentially be running. And it's amazing how fast things change in politics, it keeps guys like me busy. Peter Millivar, good to see you. Thanks for dropping by and I'm sure we'll be talking a lot. Thanks, Andrew. I get so many headaches every month. It could be chronic migraine 15 or more headache days a month. Each lasting four hours or more. Botox on a botchaline Mtoxin A prevents headaches and adults with chronic migraine. It's not for those who have 14 or fewer headache days a month. Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. A lurchar doctor right away is difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness

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51:27Colin James has 21 albums, eight Junos and the Order of British Columbia. What he didn't have for a very long time was a plan B. His new memoir is called Playing the Changes. And here's the thing about it. It stops before the fame starts. The last page is August of 1988. The week his debut record goes on sale. A journey that's not to talk about his life and times. It's Colin James, Canadian rock and roll legend and author of Playing the Changes, the Musician's memoir. Colin, thanks so much for your time today. Thank you so much. Couldn't be here. Well, let's talk a little bit about, before we get into this, the specifics of the book, I wanted to ask you what, at this moment in your life, convinced you that it was time to write a book, a memoir about your journey? A couple of things. I think over the years, so many things happened. And so many things happened to me between 13 and 22. Then I found when I went back to try to bring up a date

52:28or when it happened, I had lost track of the ages I was when things happened. So part of it was for my own clarity to kind of really pin things down and research exact dates. So that was for my own brain. But really, other than that, it kind of came from having long drives, which being a musician, you have many of, where a band member would go, tell me about the time you played with Dr. John at the Edmonton Folk Festival. I'd start off on this story. And I guess when you realize there's a few of those, you think, well, maybe there's a book there that will be interesting. And I think you search yourself a little bit for why a book now, why a book why now? And I guess both things. And it just felt maybe the time to reminisce.

53:30And really kind of get it down on paper. What's interesting about playing the changes is that the book itself stops before the fame starts. In fact, the last page ends in August of 1988, the week your record debuts and goes on sale. You open your book actually in your lion's bay kitchen in 1991 with Joni Mitchell being there with you. And I think she says to you, and then off the top says, you're a lifer. Why did you decide to start a memoir about a Prairie Childs with that moment? I'm very curious. I think because growing up in where I did, there was a lot of doubters. I think there's a tendency to when you grow up, and maybe especially in Canada, when if you're not doing something that just says Canada, which is maybe Celtic fiddle music from the Atlantic side,

54:34playing blues in the middle of the Prairies, or even playing Irish music. It was just a certain amount of, oh, well, when you get a real job, or when this dream of yours subsists, maybe you'll come back to reality. I think so in a way I wrote it for every person who comes from a place where, and this could be Houston, British Columbia, or Shikudami, Quebec. There's a tendency to think you have to be from a major city to have a real career, or an American city, even more so sometimes. And I think it's just if I felt if I could give someone the confidence to realize that you can really get anywhere from anywhere. And I think that was a strong point for me. Now, your parents were both social workers and quakers, and I think they met working at the Waiburn Hospital.

55:38Can you give me a sense what growing up was like being raised a quaker in an era of protests given that you are an artist, and just a sense of what your childhood was like? Well, I mean, you don't notice that kind of stuff as you're growing up, you really only start really noticing that with peers when you're going to school. So the first of it was pretty innocent enough daycare trips and Sunday meetings with my parents at the local quaker meeting. Regina had a very small meeting, maybe 25 or 30 people who had meet at the YMCA. And us kids, we would just sit there and giggle until we got kicked out, because it was an hour of silence. I mean, that's hard for a kid. So we last for 10 or 15 minutes, and they're like, do you kids can go? But I guess it's a snapshot of a Regina Saskatchewan that's really in some ways not there anymore, because time brings different changes.

56:39And when I grew up in Saskatchewan, I met TC Douglas. My mom introduced me to TC Douglas a couple times of different things. And now Saskatchewan's largely a conservative province where it used to be not necessarily the case. So it's a snapshot of the late 60s in Regina. And my hope is it really puts people there and gives them a feel for that. But I guess what was it like for me? It gave me a feeling of otherness. And that's sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing. I used to be called nature boy. Or you get like a moniker that we listen to a lot of music. A lot of my friends didn't. They didn't listen to any music. So every family is different than that regard. But my mom and dad, from the moment I was born, was this music was on the stereo 24-7.

57:42And so if they didn't want me to be a musician, they probably shouldn't play so much music. Part of your childhood, I found fascinating. In 1977, your mother pulled you out of grade seven and put you on a gray hound for a couple of months. And I think it was an amara pass. And you slept in Quaker homes across America. And in the book, you see, somewhere between, I think it was Minnesota, North Dakota, she turned to you and asked how you'd feel if she and your dad's split up. When did you realize the whole trip had been building to that question? When that question was asked, my mom was pretty cool. So I never, I know she empathized with my struggle at school. So I just thought she was going, maybe I'll give him this month early office school to see if I can. I don't know. I just figured she was being a cool mom. And believe me, I love the trip because we'd find ourselves

58:45on a gray hound from Seattle to Sacramento, Sacramento to LA, LA to Flagstaff. Very rarely staying at hotels because we didn't have that kind of money and social working parents with four kids. But it was just, yeah, I realized what was going on. I think when she asked the question. And it kind of, my heart sunk a little bit because I thought, oh my god, this is actually about that. This whole trip is about this impending separation. So I guess that's slightly heavy part of the book where not too long later they did separate. And I ended up living in a house that used to be full of brothers and sisters and a nuclear family to just me and my dad. Now, it's what I talk a little bit about. It's obviously your musical journey here. You were eight, I understand. Nobody was home. When you picked up your brother, Robbie's guitar, what did that feel like for the first time?

59:46And to my understanding, it was actually strong for a lefty. Well, the first, there was a lefty guitar round first. So I couldn't really play that one. I think I did try to play it and learn a bunch of really weird habits early on. And I remember I used to play it on my lap, not unlike kind of a Jeff Healey stance when I first started playing. Because I really didn't have a lot of people to show me how. And I remember when I went to my first lesson, my guitar teacher said, oh my god. You've learned some weird stuff. I didn't know you could cross pick. I would pick all up strokes. So there was this frantic picking going on. And yeah, it was just, it's pretty hard to, if you're not a lefty, it's pretty hard to relate to a left-hand guitar. But thank God my brother Robbie finally got a regular guitar and I can move with. We are speaking to music legend.

1:00:46Colin James, he has a memoir coming out on September 22nd. How you recommend you check it out. It's fabulous. I read through it over the last few days. Really enjoyed it. It's called Playing the Changes, a Musician's memoir. And it goes on sale September 22nd. Colin, one of the other things that I, you know, you really touched on it. And it really sort of stayed with me. It was, you know, is a musician's struggle. You were broke for years. A welfare case worker in Winnipeg, told you to sell your custom made acoustic and Montreal, you were counting nickels from busking to buy a can of tuna. And I think it was slipping crab meat into your pocket. Walk, just walk me through some of that. I was a bit taken aback while I was reading this. I was like, it was a real struggle. Walk me through those years. Well, I quit school at 16. So, you know, I realized that I was starting getting a little bit of trouble. I was hanging around. Yeah, I used to hang around with people

1:01:47that were quite a lot older than me. And then I did not get into trouble with them. I got into trouble when I decided that I needed to hang out with people more my own age. And then I realized I ended up in a car accident and realized that I probably wasn't going to be a school. I wasn't going to pass grade 12. You know, not with the desire I had for playing music. Because I was already in bands in grade 10 and my mark started slipping. And I just decided it was time to get going. I figured, you know, time's a waste thing. I've got, if I stay in school, this is two or three more years that I won't be out in the world meeting other musicians and trying to make a go of it. So that was it. You know, I got to win a pig and I stayed at friends of friends of my family. And you know, my first girlfriend, Sunshine, who was also a cranker family and Sunshine who is five long years has written about.

1:02:51Years later, I wrote a song about that. But yeah, I play on Osborne Village for Change. I would play various places on the street. And at one point, I was a broken off that I went to a welfare place and said, hey, listen, you know, I'm trying to play on the street. I'm trying to meet musicians here in town, but it's taken a bit of time. You know, I tried to get it like a check for a month just to tie me over. And the woman said, do you own anything? And I said, well, I own an acoustic guitar that was, you know, handmade in Regina. And she says, well, sell it. You know, so not exactly a not exactly a warm woman. I would have to say in this case and I know, it was $700. I think you got right for that guitar. Yeah, yeah, I was, you know, that was what it was at the time in 1977. That's when I got that guitar. So thank God I didn't take your advice. You know, I made it through. I tried to go to alternative high school and what it paid.

1:03:52I realized that that wasn't gonna happen either because you had to have complete self-motivation to finish your textbook of math. Well, that wasn't gonna happen. So, you know, I started a little band. I auditioned for the Winnipeg Folk Festival and I got my first gig at that age. I think it was 1984. No, it was early in year. It was 82 or 83. I can't remember now. I got a job just an afternoon workshop with my little band, The Hoody Man. And then we slowly started playing Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina and eventually I moved to Montreal and I played on the subways and Montreal in the street corners. So, and I played on, in front of liquor boroughs stores here in Vancouver for I used to busk at Granville Island. I used to work that, I used to work that car wash with the elephant like underneath the Granville bridge there. That was in Kitsilano, there's that little car wash. Yeah, I knew he was talking about, yeah.

1:04:54If you got there at six in the morning, you got a job, as long as there weren't too many people there. So I would sometimes work there. I moved furniture for a while out of an East Van furniture moving place. It took a while to get going. So I was broke until I started really touring. So what was it about Vancouver that made just a, as you said, you worked for a moving company because mom's moving. You lived in the basement apartment just off Main Street and you talked a little bit about even cockroaches in your apartment there. So what was it about Vancouver that convinced you to stay when, as you know, whether it's today or back when you were there, it's an expensive city. What convinced you to stay and still continue to pursue your art? I just fell along with Vancouver. My grandma and grandpa had a confectionery in Hope, BC.

1:05:54So from the age of three years old on, we would make the trip to Hope, BC to visit grandma and grandpa. Grandpa ended up working down at Boeing in Seattle for most of the rest of his life. But, you know, growing up in Saskatchewan, my biggest joy was when you'd see those mountains, you'd get just a Calgary and you could see that row of mountains. And for me, it was just like something magical. And the smell of the sea, Aaron Vancouver was always intoxicating. The fact that there would be blossoms on the trees when we were still walking through slush and mud and salt in Saskatchewan, there was just never any doubt. I would end up on the West Coast and I did as such as soon as I could. And I'm so happy I did. I really, I have a lot of affection for this city and this province. In the book, and you've talked about your time in Vancouver,

1:06:56Joe's cafe at commercial and Williams was effectively your office, your home phone had been cut off. So, you ran your career out of a pay phone. I think Joe let you carry your tab to my understanding. Yeah, he did. And there's a little park there. And I think you sat there in that little park with half a Mickey of vodka. And you wrote five long years. And it wasn't in one go. It was one go, it was like three in the afternoon summer, I think I just got off the road. And I decided to go take my guitar over to the park and strum a little bit. And I had just run into my first girlfriend on the road who had now had a baby and a boyfriend and all that. And so the song just kind of flowed out of me that day five long years. And almost written in a country girl,

1:07:59a sea holding hands with your love. And almost had a country little to it. I don't know why. It's just maybe because I had an acoustic with me. And that's what a strum sounded like. And not too long later, I found a manager and he suggested that I record that song with Bob Rock. And that's when things really started moving. You're speaking to music legend Colin James. He has a new book called Playing the Changes and Musicians Memoir. Do check it out. It goes on sale September 22nd. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And what's fascinating about this book is Colin really talks about his childhood but also that the book itself is written before the fame starts. So you really get a sense of Colin's background and the struggle as well. Now one of the other things Colin music, and I don't need to tell you this, music is ever changing with technology, with culture and influences and all of that. And music industry today is very different

1:09:00from when you first started. Oh, could a Colin James be successful today in the way the music industry is set up? Yeah, well, that's a hard one because it is tougher now. I mean, when I first played The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, I got to go, I got to get there on a Monday and play Monday all the way to Saturday. So back in those days, if you got a gig at a club or a live music venue, it wasn't usually one night. It was usually a whole week's worth of work. And it gave you a chance to not have a lot of people there on the Monday, maybe not have a lot of people there on the Wednesday. But slowly through the week, people go, hey man, I went and saw this band. It was really rocking. And by Friday or Saturday, you had a crowd. And I think now there's less venues.

1:10:00A lot of bar owners realized that it was a lot cheaper to hire a DJ than it was to hire a band. And so there's no doubt it's more difficult now. And there's, everyone's got a home studio now, record budgets of shrunk, ridiculously small amounts. So there's a lot going against you. Now that doesn't mean that you can't have a breakout hit. And unfortunately, he might not, back in those days, if you got a spin on the radio, it meant like five cents or four cents. Well now it's like 0.00095 cents. So there's a lot of obstacles. But then you look at a Billy Isle, a short A, people who are still squeaking through. Obviously the landscape changed. It's like TikTok, it's like feeding the bear.

1:11:01And a lot of it lands on your shoulders now, not a record company. It's your job to do the social media and all the stuff. So there's no doubt it's trickier. It's all possible. And rules are meant to be broken. And who knows, maybe at some point with AI and everything, people are going to go, you know what? I want to hear someone play a fiddle right in front of me. I don't want to hear any AI. I don't want it. I want nothing to do with fake stuff. I want the real thing, you know? The Buddha thing was shot at the Yale. And in the book, you're pretty blunt that Vancouver has lost a room that sides and needs it back. How is the live situation in your mind in regards to providing venues today? I'm going to assume it's a lot harder, especially with your conversation mentioned of the Yale. Well, just off the top of my head, Savoy, Town Pump, Railway Club, the Yale. So that was what we did back then. Those were the clubs that you had to fight to get a billing on.

1:12:04And you started the railway. Then you moved to the Savoy. Then you went to the Town Pump. There's still venues. There's the Rick Shaw. There's the Hollywood. There's still places to play. But yeah, the dynamic has changed. When I walk by the Town Pump where I saw Albert Collins and so many great bands have famously played there, it's just so sad to see them shuttered. And I hope the day comes when we get some of those venues back. I hope having the Yale have that live blues nightly sign without any blues there in a mechanical ball inside is pretty depressing. You've seen so much in the music industry. When you're an artist, obviously you're there for the music and to express your feelings and it's very inspiring for people. But then there's the business side of things. At its core, sometimes you hear musicians, they get very frustrated on the business side

1:13:06of things that things they've had to deal with. And it's all there artists. How would you describe where you are today in your life? Are you a happy person? Are you content? Do you feel still very creative? I'm very curious because you've had such an amazing, interesting childhood, an amazing career. I'm trying to get a sense of what Colin James is feeling today. Well, I'm 22 records in. I had two best subs and then I've had the chance to record. A lot of times, I love the creative process. It's super exciting. I'm starting to get back over to Europe a little more. I used to go to Europe fairly often as a younger man and we let it slide a little bit. Last fall, I ended up touring through Denmark, a bit in Sweden, a bit in Germany. And I really enjoyed it. It was just really great to cover some new ground. So I'm going back this October to do it again.

1:14:11So that's exciting. So I still look forward to live shows. I still love hanging out with my band. I love all that. I look forward to making records. It's harder to get the budgets for records. It's hard to imagine why a record company would even want to sign a band anymore because as we all know, Spotify and the record companies did deals with each other for multi-multimillions of dollars. And it's negligible what we get through spins on Spotify. It's almost not even worth talking about because there's really no money there. So, you have to make your money off live. That's it. That's the way it's always been for me in some ways anyway. But yeah, it's trickier. You see a guy like Joe Rogan getting paid multi-millions to have a podcast on Spotify and they can't even pay musicians 30 cents for the content that they play for free that nobody

1:15:16owns anymore. You know, so that stuff's frustrating. But it is what it is. The genius out of the bottle and there's nothing you can do about it. So you move on. Yeah. Well, I got to tell you, you know, growing up in the interior, enjoy your music so much still do. It's an absolute thrill for me today to chat with you. I really want to thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Oh, pleasure, man. Thank you, jazz. I was great. I appreciate that. If you are looking to pick up a book, an interesting story. Check out, playing the changes in musicians memoir by Colin James on sale September 22, 2026. So just next week. Colin, thank you so much. All the best to you. All right. You have a great day. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the Jazz Joe Hall Show podcast. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on Apple, Spotify, Amazon or Google podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. You can always listen to the Jazz Joe Hall Show live Monday to Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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