Guest Mike O'Brien, Council Person Fredericton
Mr. O'Brien speaks to how can we get more people in the community engaged in the design and decision-making process in community, as well as getting out to vote. He offers a 14 year legacy of municipal service, and with that comes many stories and highlights.

How can we build better communities? What do we need to do for the next 20 years? How can we best manage our water, our land, and our waste management?

Excellent, thoughtful interview.

Donat Thériault and Edouard Allain - local healthy food in schools
New Brunswick's school system struggles to provide healthy local food. The majority of schools failed a recent nutrition survey done by the New Brunswick Medial Society.  There are solutions on many levels.
Donat Thériault and Edouard Allain share with us the success of céd'ici ... a social enterprise which sources and serves local food in schools, and creates jobs and supports a local economy.
Link to their website: http://cedici.ca
Link to their facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cedici
Link to NB Medical Society media release on food in schools: http://healthcaretransformation.ca/ne...
Link to "Where to eat in NB schools." : http://foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/resources-research/where-eat-new-brunswick-schools

Ted Wiggins and Amanda Wildeman - Food and Farming

Ted Wiggins is President, and Amanda Wildeman is Executive Director of the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick (link below). We need to be able to feed ourselves as a province. Our ability to do so continues to decrease. Why? How is it our Legislature failed to pass a Food Security Act? Can food and farming help improve our economy? What can we all do to make sure we are able to eat in the future? Listen and learn.


Link to National Farmers Union in NB: http://nfunb.org/en/

Crown Lands, Unions, Health Care and Pensions
Here are highlights from four previous interviews. Each segment gives you depth, knowledge and heart from our guest.
- Ken Hardie speaks to our provincial Crown Lands and government announcements on wood allocation.
- Ross Galbraith speaks to electricity as an essential service and how IBEW union operates to sustain and improve that service.
- Penny Ericson speaks to our health care system and several places where performance can improve.
- Brian Durelle and Cyril Theriault speak to a deeper understanding of pensions.
If you wish to see the full interview with each of these guests, please check my website, or my Youtube channel.

Poverty, Bottled Water, Saint John River, Economy
Here are highlights from previous interviews. Each gives you depth, knowledge and heart from our guest.
- Randy Hatfield shares systemic challenges and solutions to poverty and literacy.
- Elizabeth Griswold explains the intense ethical practices within the bottled water industry.
- Simon Mitchell speaks to extensive work done for the Saint John River including the first of its kind study by Brock University of a "social inventory' of relationships along the river.
​- Peter Lindfield takes us on a wide and wonderful conversation of changing global trends, impact on our economy, shifts we need to implement now, and core foundation for building our province's well-being.

George MacLean, Dean of Arts, University of New Brunswick (Fredericton)
Post - Secondary Education is something of a "hot" topic today. The importance of a degree in securing work opportunities and impact on potential earnings over a career. The cost of going to university and the related debt load. The relevance of university in general compared to learning a skill/trade/vocation.

George MacLean brings some powerful insight and thought to these themes in this interview. We learn much about the university as it is today, as well as get a peek into what may be evolving for post-secondary education in the region.  Be prepared to be surprised ... university has changed ... and what is emerging is very exciting.

Guest Gracen Johnson - Urban Researcher and Community Planning

Ms. Johnson shares research and perspectives on what makes cities and communities walkable and economically viable. The common belief having a big box store move into your town as a measure of success may not actually be the case, explains Ms. Johnson. She also shares how urban planning needs to remember the "good" of the old approach used some 100 years ago, and provides great image-maps of a community using Fredericton as an example.  In many respects, Gracen not only talks the talk on what makes communities great places to live, she also walks the walk.
Ms. Johnson's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9U1qvl_RfKj_ffmkJxxrYQ

Guest Levi Lawrence, Real Food Connections

Levi Lawrence shares his deep understanding of the connection between healthy food, good business, and better communities. Levi is a perfect example of entrepreneurship meets grocery retail meets farming meets better community. His measure of "success" integrates all of these elements.

The link to his work and passion is www.realfoodconnections.ca

Guest Penny Ericson, Retired Dean of Nursing, amongst many titles

Penny Ericson offers breadth, depth and knowledge of how our health care delivery can improve. Her lifetime experience both professionally and personally, combined with her profound passion for doing what we can with what we have to the very best of our ability, teaches us how we can provide much better health care in New Brunswick.

As well, Penny shares life lessons and thoughts on community, relationships and living a full life.

Guest Peter Corbyn, Chief of Green with GreenNexxus
Peter Corbyn offers insights, analysis, and a deeper understanding of how companies and communities may adjust to be significantly more energy efficient.  The notion, "...every job should be a green job" is one example, where the behavior to reduce waste, be more efficient in products, materials and energy use and more is simply a way of operating, a part of the corporate culture. Peter shares ways to get to this level of practice.
He also shares views on larger topics such as energy production and distribution, smart-grid technology, and perspective and depth on global warming.
Fascinating, smart, with heart and humour ... Peter Corbyn's interview is an interesting watch and listen.
Here is the link to GreenNexxus ... http://espme.greennexxus.com

Guest Peter Lindfield, Chair and CEO of the Carlisle Institute

Peter Lindfield offers his insights and knowledge on New Brunswick's economic challenges and opportunities in a wide ranging discussion. Forestry, farming, manufacturing, for example, are discussed in both a global and provincial context. As well, Mr. Lindfield deepens the discussion through attention to core drivers of economy and community, such as education. Solutions are out there, but we will need to embrace significant change. Mr. Lindfield offers his perceptions and suggestions with clarity and compassion.

Here is the link to the Carlisle Institute ... www.carlisleinstitute.org

Guest Graydon Nicholas Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
His Honor Graydon Nicholas shares his personal insights and stories. This is a very special conversation where we learn of the many good deeds and actions done by people in the province to help each other, and we learn and develop a deeper understanding of community.
His Honor shares the deep connection one feels when holding an infant, "... the focus of that child is love and care and nourishment ... and when I held my grandson , when you do that, what it does to you emotionally, spiritually ... is tremendous peace. Whenever I speak to adults, if we can experience that for one child for one person, maybe when we begin our day ... this is how we should do it ... pretend we are holding on to a child ... remember that moment."Beautiful interview ... and connects to how New Brunswick may create a new narrative ... and everything is connected.

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