Episodes

  • Strategies to Attract & Retain Family Doctors

    Strategies to Attract & Retain Family Doctors
    Jun 28 2024
    Family doctors are at the heart of Greater Victoria's healthcare system. However, in recent years, the doctor shortage has left many people without access to family doctors. In this episode of Rising Economy, we talk with Niki Bouchard, Retention & Recruitment Lead with the South Island Division of Family Practice, to find out how Greater Victoria ended up with such a shortage, what steps are in the works to improve the situation — and what still needs to be done to attract and retain more doctors for the region.
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    32 mins
  • Designing Victoria: The Festival & the Future

    Designing Victoria: The Festival & the Future
    Apr 26 2024
    Join us for a fascinating talk with Carla Sorrell, Director of Design Victoria, a 4-day festival (May 9-12, 2024) celebrating Victoria's design community. Carla offers festival highlights plus insights into how design — from architecture to graphic, product and software design — shapes the economy and culture of cities, including the Metro Victoria region.
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    29 mins
  • Measuring What Matters: Is it Time to Embrace a Well-being Economy?

    Measuring What Matters: Is it Time to Embrace a Well-being Economy?
    Dec 20 2023
    Since World War II, governments have largely relied on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to assess economic progress. Now, support is growing globally for a well-being approach to the economy where quality of life, greater equality and environmental protections are measured alongside traditional economic performance. In Episode 10, we talk to Chris Forester of the Island Community Mental Health Association and Emilie de Rosenroll of South Island Prosperity Partnership about measuring what matters.
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    35 mins
  • Leading Together: Making Collaboration Work for Southern Vancouver Island

    Leading Together: Making Collaboration Work for Southern Vancouver Island
    Dec 7 2023
    With 13 municipalities on Southern Vancouver Island, inter-governmental collaboration is often seen as … well … complicated. But the desire to collaborate across municipal boundaries was alive and well at Local Leadership Day 2023, hosted by South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP). The event drew over 90 municipal leaders and key stakeholders together to explore solutions to local constraints to economic vibrancy. Join host Kerry Slavens and guests Steve Duck, Sidney Municipal Councillor, and Dallas Gislason, Executive Director, Community Economies, SIPP.
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    42 mins
  • Vital Signs: Taking the Pulse of Our Region

    Vital Signs: Taking the Pulse of Our Region
    Oct 18 2023
    This episode of Rising Economy features an-depth interview with Jonathon Dyck of the Victoria Foundation exploring how Greater Victoria residents scored our region on key issues like health, housing quality of life and the economy in the latest edition of the Vital Signs report.
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    50 mins
  • How Do We Close the Island’s Food Supply Gap (and Why it Matters More than Ever)?

    How Do We Close the Island’s Food Supply Gap (and Why it Matters More than Ever)?
    Sep 27 2023
    With more than 80% of our food coming from off-Island, only 20 to 30% of our farmable land in production, and only three days of fresh food available at any given time, Vancouver Island has a major food supply gap. In this Rising Economy podcast, we talk to three people working hard to fix the system — Darren Stott, Greenchain Consulting; Tom Hyde, Mill Bay Processing; and food systems specialist Dr. Patricia Reichert.
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    52 mins
  • Retail in Revolution

    Retail in Revolution
    Sep 20 2023
    In this episode of the Rising Economy podcast, we talk with Darlene Hollstein, General Manager of The Bay Centre in downtown Victoria, B.C., about the challenges and opportunities facing retailers amidst urban changes, demographic shifts, a hiring crisis and a massive digital transformation.
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    46 mins
  • Why the Arts & Culture Sector is Vital to a Thriving Economy

    Why the Arts & Culture Sector is Vital to a Thriving Economy
    Sep 7 2023
    Greater Victoria’s arts & culture sector is more than just “nice to have” — it actually contributes $800 million annually toward our GDP and employs over 10,000 people across the Capital Region.
    In Episode 5 of the Rising Economy podcast, we talk with Franz Lehrbass of the Royal McPherson Theatres Society and Dallas Gislason of South Island Prosperity Partnership about why we need to nurture the arts and culture sector for our region’s economic and social vitality.
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    45 mins