About this episode

OneBC leader Dallas Brodie sits down with Travis Bader for the first conversation in the Silvercore Podcast's BC Election 2026 series.

The conversation runs in three parts: the person, the party and the platform. Brodie traces her path from corporate lawyer, youth defence counsel, broadcast journalist and Residential Tenancy Branch arbitrator to her election as MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena in 2024. She talks about getting her PAL in 2021 and her expulsion from the BC Conservative caucus in March 2025.

On the platform, Travis puts questions from the Silvercore community to her on OneBC's proposed 25% cut to personal and corporate income tax and two-point PST cut, a 10% savings target for every ministry, the party's position on the federal firearms buyback, a provincial storage program and a provincially appointed chief firearms officer, hunting licence revenue, moose and caribou declines, Crown land access, Aboriginal title and the Cowichan decision, SOGI 123 in schools, public safety and addiction, and her first 100 days.

ABOUT THIS SERIES

On September 25, 2026, Travis invited the leaders of all five parties with seats in the BC legislature to the same long-form conversation, with the same format and the same community questions, and followed up on September 28. At the time of recording, OneBC accepted, the BC NDP declined, Centre BC was arranging a date, and the BC Conservatives and BC Greens had not responded. Any leader who accepts before the October 24 election gets the same opportunity. The views expressed are the guest's own. Silvercore does not endorse any party or candidate.

During the conversation, Ms. Brodie names Silvercore as an example of a contractor for a provincial firearms storage program. Silvercore has no storage plan and no arrangement with OneBC or any other party.

Chapters

00:00 About this series: who was invited and who answered

01:37 Welcome, Dallas Brodie

02:47 Law, broadcasting, business and the road to the legislature

07:21 Fishing, a PAL and learning to shoot

12:29 A public decision with a personal cost

19:48 Federal influence, labels and political debate

26:23 The strongest argument against her platform

28:15 SOGI 123 and what is taught in schools

37:11 The 25% tax cut and how it is costed

40:24 A 10% savings target, including health and education

41:17 The federal gun buyback and a provincial storage program

46:37 Hunters, conservation and listening to the experts

51:38 AI and decision-making in government

58:17 The RCMP, the buyback and a provincial chief firearms officer

1:02:47 Where hunting licence money goes

1:04:44 Debt, deficit and the snap election

1:06:41 Moose, caribou and predator management

1:10:25 Crown land access and Aboriginal title

1:14:58 Affordability: what changes for a young family

1:17:40 Repeat offenders and open drug use

1:20:53 The Cowichan decision and private property

1:28:21 Improving life for Indigenous people

1:30:09 Intergenerational trauma and policy

1:36:39 Polarization and leadership

1:42:33 Her first 100 days

1:44:12 Her pitch to voters who have never voted OneBC

1:45:29 Closing thoughts

Travis Bader: [00:00:00] In British Columbia, there's a provincial election on October 24th. It was called early, so it's a short campaign. I'm gonna be straight with you, I'm not a politics guy. I don't follow it day by day. But a lot of you have told me you don't know who's running or what they'd actually do. And the things that matter to this community, hunting, fishing, firearms, rural life, hardly ever get asked about.

So I reached out to the leaders of all five parties that had seats in the legislature, and I offered each of them the exact same thing, a long sit-down. Same format, no clips, no panel. I'm just gonna ask the questions that you'd ask. And if an answer goes over my head, I'll ask them to put it into plain English.

I sent those invites out on September 25th [00:01:00] and followed up again on the 28th. The NDP got back to me, and they declined. Centre BC says Elenore Sturko is interested, and we're working on a date. I haven't heard back from the Conservatives or the Greens. If any of them do come back to me before the 24th, the door is open, and they get the same shot.

I'm not endorsing anybody. Every leader gets the same questions, and you can make up your own mind. For the first one that we're doing here, the first person to say yes was OneBC, and I want to welcome to the Silvercore Podcast Dallas Brodie.

Dallas Brodie: Thank you so much for having me on, Travis.

Travis Bader: Absolutely. And you know, I'm gonna have to say it takes courage to be the first one through the gates.

Other people can now sit back, and they can listen, and they say, "Oh, this is what it's all about." You've got no idea. All you know is any research that you've done, but you were the first one to jump in and say, "Yes, I want to be on the [00:02:00] podcast. I wanna share what I know," and I think that says something about you, so thank you.

Dallas Brodie: You're very welcome, and, uh, it's actually an honor to be here. So I, um, I really appreciate you inviting me, truthfully.

Travis Bader: Well, I appreciate you making the time. And what I thought I'd do is I'd separate this into three different parts. We'd talk about the person, we can talk about the party, and we talk about the platform.

And, uh, the community and people associated with Silvercore and the Silvercore Podcast and the club have sent in a bunch of different questions. And I've done my absolute best to go through and try and vet them and fact-check them. But if I'm off or if something's off in there, please let me know, and so we can just set the record straight.

Dallas Brodie: Okay. No problem.

Travis Bader: So the person. Um, what were you doing before politics, and what made you run?

Dallas Brodie: Before politics, I was a, a lawyer for m- many years. [00:03:00] Um, I practiced in different areas of law and, um, I, I was, uh, attended law school in 1980, '84 to '87 in Toronto, and I came back to Vancouver to practice. So, um, I was called to the bar in 1988 I, I, I did a brief, I did a seven-year stint in broadcast journalism as well, somewhere in the middle there.

I had an idea that I wanted to do some on-air legal analysis and went back to school at BCIT to get a degree in broadcast journalism, and then did that for a while and, and then went back to law ultimately, and, um, and worked as an arbitrator at the Residential Tenancy Branch for the final 10 years of my career.

So I sort of did four things. I did corporate securities and real estate law in the big firms for the first seven years of my practice. Then I went out and did something completely different and started doing, um, defense work for young offenders, um, in sort of a legal aid practice, helping... And I was in court a [00:04:00] lot for seven years.

Then I did seven years in broadcasting, and then I did 10 years as an arbitrator at the Residential Tenancy Branch of BC. Um, and, uh, I got really sick in my early 50s. I was also running a business on the side, and I had kids at the time, and something had to give, so I had to stop my arbitration, but I loved it.

And then I was just sort of raising my daughters, running my business, and things were starting to really deteriorate in Vancouver, the city I grew up in. I'm a fifth-generation Vancouverite. My, my family history goes right back to the very beginning of this, the pioneer days of Vancouver and this province.

I have, um, ancestors who worked really hard here and slogged it out. And I, um, uh, I was watching the de- deterioration in Vancouver particularly. It was becoming extremely evident during COVID, and I was- got together with some other women, and we started a group called Save Our City, and, you know, we were just a little group, but we were all worried.

And we did pretty well for people who had never [00:05:00] done it before. I got on the radio a few times, and we had a little, um, X handle and a website. And then, uh, I was asked to run in the, a by-election in my riding where I grew up, Vancouver-Quilchena, uh, for the BC Conservative Party in '22. And of course, they knew I wouldn't win.

I, I got 6% of the vote. And then when the second general election came up in '24, uh, they asked me to run again in that riding, and I actually won, which I didn't think I would win. But, um, I was up against Kevin Falcon, who was the leader of the BC United Party at the time, and I won. I mean, he ended up dropping out, but I, I can't say that...

I think partially it was because I was pulling ahead of him and, um, and I think that had to do with the fact that I grew up there, and people know me, and they've known me since I was little. And, you know, I'm a straight shooter, and I'm an honest person. I've always been a hard worker, and, you know, that, that bodes you well through the years, you, you know.

So I think people trusted me, and here I am [00:06:00]

Travis Bader: Ah, excellent. And so, um, you know, I- there's a bunch of questions I'd normally wanna ask to dig a little bit deeper on the personal side there. Uh-huh. But I realize that we have, we have time constraints as well, and we've got a bunch of other questions about the, the party and the policy.

I'm curious about the business, though. Was that, was that the arbitration business?

Dallas Brodie: No, the arbitration business, I was actually working for the BC government. I run a, um, real estate business. It's just ownership and management of a few apartment buildings and some commercial properties. It's not, you know, I'm not a huge player, but I, um, my family had built things up over the years, and my sisters and I had to take it over when my dad died.

And then I've just built that up and tried to expand my holdings and, you know, done my best with that, and it's been something that I've always been good at, real estate. Throughout my whole life, like even, um, during my marriage, we, we did a lot of fixing up, making a bit of money, moving, fixing up, making a bit, you know.

That's what, what I did. It's hard work. It is hard work. [00:07:00] Yeah, it's hard. It's hard on the marriage too because you're always drywalling. Oh my God. Drywalling and, and, uh, shoveling and oh my God. Yeah, drywall is a hell of a hate. I would work all week as a l- work all week as a lawyer and then spend my weekends in Home Depot at 6:00 in the morning with coffees going, "Oh God, we're, we're doing this again," and picking up stuff.

You know the, you know that whole drill.

Travis Bader: Oh, yeah. Oh, I hate drywalling. I mean, it, yeah, it's, um... You know, next question I got here, and I, and I think I know the answer to some of this, 'cause we were talking a bit here. But do you hunt, fish, shoot, or spend time in the backcountry?

Dallas Brodie: I, I used to fish when I was little for shiners, uh, just off the dock making our own hooks, and I've taught my kids how to fish for shiners just off the docks using mussels as bait.

But I've never, I've never hunted. Um, and I'm not a serious, um, fisherman. But I, um, I was hoping in my future to learn how to fly-fish. That was, that's one of my [00:08:00] goals.

Travis Bader: Um- Ah.

Dallas Brodie: I own a home in the Kootenays now, and I, whenever I drive past the, the Goat River, I think, "I'm gonna get someone to teach me." Uh, I wanna go and sort of just stand there.

Even if I don't catch anything, it just looks so beautiful. But I, I did get my PAL, uh, in 2021.

Travis Bader: Yeah?

Dallas Brodie: And, um, I took a course. I'd never held a gun before. Actually, I'd never even seen a gun up close. But I, um, things that were happening during COVID had me very concerned. A- And I was planning to move to the country actually and get out of the cities, and I thought, "I need to know how to handle a firearm."

And so I took a course with, actually, with Silvercore at their Croatian Cultural Center in Vancouver on Commercial Drive. That's cool. And I went there that weekend, and I, I, I managed to pass as a complete rookie, but I did it, and I now have firearms that I still can't seem to get around to getting to the range to practice with, but I'll get there.

I'll get there, and I, I [00:09:00] actually really like shooting at the little targets. I found it fun. Uh- Yeah, it's- The first time I shot a 9 millimeter though, I honestly almost fell on the ground. I had never felt that f- It scared me, the power of that, like-

Travis Bader: All right, we just had a connection issue, but I think we got it figured out now.

And, uh, all right, I'll turn it back over to you here, Dallas.

Dallas Brodie: So I was just saying that I did get my, um, my PAL, and the first time I fired a w- a firearm, I found it really overwhelming. And I need more practice and, um, but I do enjoy it. It's fun. I like shooting at the targets, and it's, it's very exciting.

And I used to not understand why people, uh, you know, w- wanted to hunt or, uh, because I was a really city person, and, you know, I didn't get it. But I think I was telling you before I came on is that I remember feeling really helpless one time because a, an animal had been injured by their, at, on an island up in the Inyah Sound where I was visiting some friends.

And this poor raccoon was, like, [00:10:00] crying, and it was l- dragging its leg along. It was... And all the children were crying, and we had no idea of how to deal with this. And we had to call a man from down the bay who had a, a .22, and he came down and dealt with the situation. And I remember thinking, "This is really bad."

We had no idea how to help this animal, and, and it was heartbreaking on so many levels. Um, I, I just remember thinking, "What if you hit an animal and you didn't have any way to put it out of its suffering?" It's just, it's, uh, that really bothered me, and I thought, uh, you know, I did get a place in the country, and I was thinking I'd move there.

And I wanted to... I wasn't ma- necessarily planning on hunting, but I wanted to be sure, first of all, that, you know, if there was a problem, I could protect myself, but also that I could, uh, you know, maybe if an animal needed to be put out of its misery, I would know how to do that. That was-

Travis Bader: Hmm ...

Dallas Brodie: um-

Travis Bader: Yeah ...

Dallas Brodie: on my mind.

Travis Bader: It, it's, it's surprising how many people were turned on to the world of firearms and, I guess, [00:11:00] self-sufficiency from COVID. I think that was a, a huge eye-opener for a lot of people. And some people would say, "Oh, well, I'll, I'll just go hunting, and I'll grow my own garden, and I'll have all the food I need."

Well, it's, it's really not as easy as that. And then, then other people were like, "Well, uh, I don't feel safe," and a firearm can represent safety, although that's kinda taboo to talk about in, in, uh, Canadian culture. It's pr- Yes ... pretty common place in, in, uh, American culture. But all- I noticed even in- ... a lot of these people who generally were l- Yeah, go on

Dallas Brodie: I notice that even in the course, a lot of people, it's, it, you know, you sort of were, you got the message you're not allowed to say, "I'm taking this course for my self-protection."

You have to s- sort of say, "Well, I'm, I'm thinking about hunting sometime," because, you know. But I, I'm not quite sure exactly what it was during COVID that got me starting to think, "This is getting dangerous." I just got this general sense that, uh, we're not in Kansas [00:12:00] anymore, or whatever. Something's different now.

Yeah. And I don't know exactly what it is, but, um, it's up to you, Dallas. And if you're gonna go out into the country, you better know how to use a firearm, and even in the city, I mean. And like I said, I still need to do a lot of practicing, 'cause it's not a joke. This is a very big responsibility, and y- you know, it, it's a big deal.

I take it very seriously that I own a firearm, and, and, or several. And, um, you know.

Travis Bader: Yes. No, 100% agree. Well, all right. Well, let's, um, look at the next question here, and then we'll start getting into the party. But what decision in public life has cost you something personally?

Dallas Brodie: Well, I think a lot of people know that I was expelled from the Conservative Party in March of 2025.

That was a very painful experience. Um, it cost me being part of a, part of a group, and it was resulting from [00:13:00] my, my, uh, postings about the claim that there had been two hu- uh, 215 children found in a mass grave at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. There had... I was the attorney general critic, one of them at the time.

Uh, a case came up that a man was suing the Law Society of British Columbia for defamation. He claimed that they had called him a racist for pointing out that the mandatory materials at the Law Society of British Columbia con- still contained this falsehood that there had been bodies found. He wanted the word potential burial, potential, um, burials added, and it became a really, really big war at the Law Society of British Columbia.

And I decided to post and say, "Listen, there have been zero bodies found, and, um, we, if we can't have truth at the Law Society, we will have literally truth nowhere." And for that, I got [00:14:00] in big trouble.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: I was sent to the principal's office for that one. And boy, oh boy, I got the strap. I got the yardstick on the knuckles.

I got it full blast, and the media just went ape. Mm-hmm. And I, I, I, uh, part of me was going, "Wow, don't say the truth in politics, baby."

Travis Bader: Would you do it again?

Dallas Brodie: Yes.

Travis Bader: Yeah. And I- Despite all the hardship.

Dallas Brodie: Despite all the hard shit. Because I, I believe... Like, I was one of those people knowing something's very wrong in our province and in our country.

You don't exactly know what is changing or who's pushing it or why it's happening, but it is obvious that they are trying to lie to us, uh, deconstruct the normative ways of lives we always lived, and we were doing very well, thank you. Um, a lot of us, I was born in the '60s, we had a beautiful [00:15:00] country, and they are trying to deconstruct.

There is a working group in British Columbia paid for by the federal liberals at all levels of government working to what... They're, they're deconstructing the expectations that we have and trying to recalibrate us into accepting a very different life than we had all hoped for or dreamed of. We need...

We're, we're... They're managing our expectations. They're, they're teaching us to live with the concept of scarcity. Imagine scarcity in a province like British Columbia where we only have 6 million people living. I mean, if you compare our populations- We have so

Travis Bader: much abundance in BC.

Dallas Brodie: Pardon me?

Travis Bader: I said we have so much abundance in BC

Dallas Brodie: Yeah, we have, we have abundance beyond belief.

And we, and now we're being told we have to have a shower that barely drips out of the faucet, and we're being to- and, and pulp mills are shutting down- ... because they're, they're told they, they have no access to fiber. Come on. We are at, we [00:16:00] are covered in trees. Yeah, I mean, well- We, we are full of water

Travis Bader: Yeah, just look at the forest fires every year

Dallas Brodie: Even if we were short of water, how about desalination plants?

It's easy. Boats use them all the time. You desalinate the water, you got a tank of water. We're not short of water. I've- We, we are being managed I've always

Travis Bader: questioned that And I mean, you look at our mountains, we got tons of water. What, what we have a shortage of, if there's a shortage, is the, uh, the retention capacity of the water.

Correct. Like, why don't we just build more reservoirs? Like, d- doesn't that make sense? Or what- Yes ... what's the, what's the, uh... I don't know. I, I've never understood that. Well, and- "Oh, no, better start cutting down on water." It's everywhere. We live in a rainforest.

Dallas Brodie: Yes. And, and this year, the regulation against sprinkling your lawn started on June 5th, okay?

June 5th. It had just been pouring rain for, whatever, three months. I mean, I don't know where you live, but it rains nonstop here all winter long. It's, um... And, like, everything's always soggy.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: Algae all over our buildings. And on June [00:17:00] 5th, we're already being told there's water restrictions. Yeah. First of all, when you sprinkle your rin- lawn, it goes back into the water table.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: It's not like it just disappears. Uh, the, the whole thing is d- designed to make you feel fearful and, and live with the concept of scarcity. Of course, we don't go around just wasting and leaving taps running, and like, no. But people don't do that, but they're trying to change the way we live, and they want you to d- dial it back.

Don't dream of having a house with a white picket fence and two kids and going on a trip every year. And, um, and it, it really is, um, an effort to change what we expect from our lives, and I am so against this. And this is world forces. Um, I've been doing a lot of reading about this. It's not a conspiracy.

Even, it's, even in my writing, they tried to create something called the Villages Plan, um, throughout Vancouver, without any, uh, input from the, [00:18:00] the citizens of the, the, the city. They claim that they did with some online stupid poll that nobody ever does, right? Nobody ever goes to those things, because you know no one's reading it.

They, they wanted to impose seven separate villages that were mostly in my writing. There were, I think, uh, 26 planned for all of Vancouver, but, uh, our neighborhood, which is usually pretty sleepy, and, um, woke up and said, "Wait a second here. What do you mean you're putting in six-story towers at the corner of King Edward and McDonald?

We don't- Hmm ... who asked us?" And we fought, and we won that. But the, the push for that was coming from the Federal Liberal Party that promised money to the city if they would start doing all of this abundant housing stuff. And, and You know, s- excuse me Ottawa is not supposed to be running Vancouver City Hall.

Right.

Travis Bader: Now-

Dallas Brodie: Like you are not able to tell us what's best for our neighborhoods. You have no idea [00:19:00] about our neighborhoods. So what is this- And I don't have any ideas about your neighborhoods, but get the hell out of BC please. And out of Vancouver, and all of these global organizations need to be told to s- get packing and get out of here.

Hmm. Go back to California, go back to Washington State, and go back to wherever you came from, but we don't want you here. British Columbians love this province. They, they, they love it, they know how to deal with it, and I think that the re- well, I, the reason we're seeing such a mess is because we are being managed from afar.

Hmm. And, um, there are interests in our province because we have such resources, and we can get into that later. But we, we are... If you're noticing big changes, and it comes right down to this whole thing about sexualization of our children at a young ages, this is all part of it

Travis Bader: So, and you've touched on a bunch of different points here, and I think the first one was the, uh, there's a federal liberal group that is, uh, looking at deconstructing and creating a, uh, a [00:20:00] scarcity.

Can you tell me more about that group? Uh, like, and, and how do you differentiate, um, like, y- 'cause you said this isn't a conspiracy theory, all the people who'd wanna say, "Well, that's a straight-up conspiracy" to, "No, this is happening and y- and here's how we know."

Dallas Brodie: Well, I've just been reading a book called The Battle for the Soul of Canada by Grant Abraham.

Someone gave it to me at a... And I was on a plane, um, l- last weekend, and I took this book out and I started reading. I'm like, "Okay. Now I get it." A member of that group has given him the information secretly. He won't say what the name of it is or who it is, but basically there are 52 people on this group.

They've received $6 million in funding from the federal government, and their job, and they started back in 20- uh, this book is written in '23, so they must have started around '21, '22. But they are actively working about how to recondition us into accepting. And suddenly everything snapped into [00:21:00] place for me about why we're seeing what we're seeing, because I kept asking myself, "What is going on here?"

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: Something's different. This is not the, the way things used to be. I don't see anybody begging to have their streets closed off and plazas put in, and nobody's asking for these things, and bike stands put everywhere. And, uh, you know, who's asking for drag queens to go into the schools? Who is actually asking for this stuff?

Who's asking for children to see X-rated materials in the schools? Where is this coming from? And this book really helped me to understand that in order to take down our nation, um, and is to rearrange the way we live, and the government isn't meant to serve us. We are supposed to be lorded over in effect.

Travis Bader: Hmm. Yeah, I think, um, I, I, I think when you bring up conspiracy theorist, I think there's a lot of people who will throw around words like conspiracy theorists or racist or- Yeah ... [00:22:00] buzzwords out there to stifle a conversation. And sometimes the, um, the conversation or the thought process might not be fully formed- And perhaps it should be formed, and perhaps we should allow these things to go through to their logical conclusion so we can actually talk about it.

But I, I find there's a lack of, um, respectful dialogue on issues that seem self-evident in certain ways. Whether it is actually based on one thing or not, people should be able to raise their concern and say, "Well, here's what I'm seeing. Like, why is it happening? And here's where I'd like to go. Why, why don't we look to go in that direction?"

Do you find that a challenge in your, um, in your profession to be able to deal with these knee-jerk, TikTok attention span, uh, labels that people apply to something when someone brings up perhaps a valid concern, but in a way that doesn't fit the normative, uh, the current normative, uh, [00:23:00] nomenclature?

Dallas Brodie: It, it is hard because the regime-accepted narrative is there, and you're not supposed to step outside of it.

Yeah. And I've learned what happens. You know, you get your head blown off if you stick your head above the parapet and say, "Well, wait a second." Mm. "Something's going wrong here." And, um, like calling me a racist or a denialist is classic, uh, classic labeling, right? Sure. Um, a denialist, uh, I've never denied anything about the residential school system.

I think there were, uh, harms that happened. I think there were benefits that happened. A lot of people, um, did well- They're not

Travis Bader: supposed to talk about that

Dallas Brodie: No, they're not

Travis Bader: allowed. No.

Dallas Brodie: You're not supposed to talk about it. But that is, that is being a denialist, and, and you're supposed to not even question this Graves claim even though the National Post and the Globe & Mail, like everybody's admitted, "Uh-oh, this is, uh, not good.[00:24:00]

We've 12, $12 million paid and no digging and still no five years later." And so y- you know, I, I didn't even campaign on this. But it's like when you start seeing that big a lie being promoted, you wonder, "Well, what else are we, what else are we being lied to about?" If, if we're willing to lie about that and make everybody bend on their knee every year and, and feel ashamed of ourselves, I'm thinking, "If there are no bodies, let's celebrate that and realize it was a mistake and be happy that there's no such thing."

But it seems they want this to be true. Hmm. And whoever they is, but, um, yeah, it's a, it's a complicated topic, but I've had to just muscle through the, the labeling and say, "Okay, it's uncomfortable. I don't like being called names. I've never been attacked like this in my life. I've always been a, just a hardworking person with, you know, j- a good heart and doing my work, um, v- worked very hard."

But you get into politics, it's a very different world, and there are a [00:25:00] lot of agendas. And I was naive, for sure.

Travis Bader: I think, I think you nailed it on the head. It's a complicated topic, and there's a lot of complicated topics out there that re- that no one's gonna be happy about. Uh, as you try and work your way forward to a resolution, you're always gonna be upsetting one side or the other.

Or, as they say, if both sides are upset, you probably found a, uh, uh, somewhere neutral ground here. It's complicated, but, um, but it needs to happen, and it needs to happen through discussion. Yes. And, um, in, in applying these knee-jerk labels just to stop the conversation- I think it works, because I think a lot of people just start, you know, and they just, they stop talking about certain things.

Like I look at when COVID happened. You wanna talk about COVID? You had to whisper. And maybe if you whisper, you gotta look around behind your back like who's, who's... And now, now people can now talk about it again 'cause it's, uh, politically correct. But that, that's not a way to live a life. And people can be [00:26:00] right out to lunch and talk about something, and other people can say, "Yeah, I don't agree with you."

And they can separate the person from the issue and say, "Yeah, I, I don't, the, I'm not saying I don't like you, I'm saying I don't agree with you, and here's why. And what do you have to be able to back up what you're saying?" And then you can have that discussion. I, I find a lot of that's missing.

Dallas Brodie: Well, when they attack you personally, it means they can't meet you in the political argument.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, one thing I like to do when I'm trying a new endeavor, doing something in business, is I want to, uh, sort of steel man my position. And it's kinda like that movie 8 Mile with Eminem and the, uh, you're supposed to put down the other person. And well, all Eminem did was he put down himself.

He just called out all the different things. It's like, "Yeah, now how are you gonna hurt me?" So what's the strongest argument against your platform, and your answer to it?

Dallas Brodie: Strongest argument against my platform Ah. [00:27:00] Well, um, our tax plan has been attacked as being, um, we, we're promising a 25% tax cut for both individuals and corporations, and a 2% cut in the PST.

And if I did form government, I would look to making BC probably the most attractive tax haven in the country, even working towards maybe North America. I would dream of a province where there is no sales tax, a province where we can cut the income tax level for the province by maybe 50%, 75%. And how do we do this?

By encouraging business and economics and enterprise to come back here and be, and, and work in our province and really build, because the revenues would be wonderful. People attack that saying, "But what are you gonna cut?"

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: That's gonna reli- re- result in cuts, and that's the, the biggest thing people, you know, have been attacking me for.

I mean, they've attacked me on other things too, but really most of our, my policies are really not far off, [00:28:00] uh, same as what the original BC Conservative Party had. Um, but I... Gordon Campbell did a major tax cut in the early 2000s, and the, the bump to the economy was not only immediate, it was big.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And I, I fundamentally believe that people c- you people, I, you, we can all spend our money better than government can, and much better to leave the money in the hands of the, of the people than having government, um, hand, passing it around for us.

So that's an attack I've taken. I've also taken attack on our policy about removing SOGI from the schools. Um, this was also a policy of the BC Conservative Party, but now it's looking like that is not... It's looking shaky. I am 100% against the presentation of pornographic and X-rated materials to our littlest children, and I am 100% against teachers [00:29:00] talking to children about their gender and sexuality whatsoever.

That is not their place or their job. If I, my child went to play at your house for a day, and you showed him books or her books like this, or talked to him about, uh, these things, I'd be at your door saying, "I'm calling the police." You know? Uh, and I don't know why we are allowing teachers to speak to our little children about sex.

And-

Travis Bader: Yeah, why, why, why is that? Like, what do you... Uh, h- how did we end up there?

Dallas Brodie: The, the movement is to normalize casual sexual activity and to normalize all manner of love. Love. Part of this agenda is love is love. Well, I beg to differ. If you love little children, that is not love. But there is a movement to get rid of the term pedophile- [00:30:00] And use the word MAP, minor attracted persons.

And this is on the move, and the whole idea is to open up children to sexuality so they won't feel afraid of it when it comes their way, and make them feel that it's all perfectly normal. In fact, that's what the book is-- One of the books is called It's Perfectly Normal And it has pictures of people in, like, it's basically cartoon porn.

And I don't even wanna look at it, and I'm a grownup.

Travis Bader: And this is something they're showing in school?

Dallas Brodie: Y- yes.

Travis Bader: Jeez.

Dallas Brodie: And I, and, and they're also talking to children, asking little boys, "You can be a girl or a boy, or what is your gender?" I mean, children, uh, you know, uh, do you remember being in kindergarten? I mean-

Travis Bader: Yeah.

Or- ...

Dallas Brodie: you're just a little kid.

Travis Bader: Yeah, I wanted to be an army man or a cop, right? Yeah. So that was, um, yeah, and I've, I've heard the, I've heard the, [00:31:00] "Well, I wanna be a pirate. Should I get rid of an eye and a leg and put a pirate on my shoulder?"

Dallas Brodie: Precisely.

Travis Bader: Um,

Dallas Brodie: I mean- I mean, so why, what people will say is, "Oh, you're anti-gay rights."

I'm like, that's ridiculous. This has nothing to do with gay rights. Gay rights are now ensconced in our, um, they have all the rights. Like, it used to be that they needed changes to the law, so if you were in a same-sex marriage, you could give your pension to your spouse, and all these different- Hmm

changes that were made to allow for that.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: That's been done. Um, and but this is now taking it a step further, pushing sexuality constantly, um, and teaching children that there are 36 genders and these types of things. And I, I really, getting back to basics is what our kids need in the schools. They need to go there to learn skills so they can succeed in life.

Their sexuality and their learning about that will come at a natural age for them. Their parents will talk to them or their friends, the way we all learned, and we've all gotten by for millions of years without having SOGI [00:32:00] 123 instructors, uh, talking about these things. And I don't even wanna say the words out loud that they're talking to them about, but I, I, uh, you

Travis Bader: know- Well, I think it's, I think it's kind of backfiring.

I, I, I, I look back in history, and there's, uh, in our recent history, a lot of compassion needed to be shown that wasn't being shown. There is a lot of acceptance that should've been shown that wasn't being shown. And, and there is a fight to say, look at, just because of our or- orientation doesn't mean that we shouldn't have rights.

It doesn't mean that we shouldn't have compassion and, and, and all the rest. Exactly. And there was a strong fight that was pushed forward. I agree with that 100%. Um, but it's pushed to a point now where I think it's starting to cause people to start becoming resentful. And I think a lot of the, uh, traditional, when you look at the, uh, LGBT, I, I don't, I don't know the whole alphabet, but the traditional, uh, gay community, I don't wanna be offensive in, [00:33:00] in how I say it.

I, but that's how I've known the, the terminology. Um, they're taking a step back and saying, "Well, hold, hold on. Hold on. Like, we were fighting for something that we really believed in. I think this is being pushed too far." It feels like it pr- it is perhaps subverted in some ways.

Dallas Brodie: That, that's correct. It's gone too far.

I mean, j- just stay away from the kids, okay? Live your life. I don't believe the government should be in our bedrooms or in our houses or telling us how to raise our kids. I think that we need to get out of people's lives. Uh, that would be a big change I would make, is like we have no business telling people how to run their lives.

If there's criminal acts being committed, we have a criminal code. We have laws there to enforce against the worst things that can happen in society, and it's worked fine for, you know, our whole lives. Uh, this is a new thing, and, uh, uh, in my campaigning, parents are absolutely desperate to have this stopped.

And so I, [00:34:00] I would stop that. It would be removed-

Travis Bader: Hmm ...

Dallas Brodie: completely. No more. We will get back to basics and maybe have a course called instead of SOGI 123, Resilience 123. Let's teach our kids that there will always be troubles in life. There will always be hard times. I got mean things said about me when I was little.

I, you know, there's... We all had things that happened, and but you know what? You have to get through these things. You, there is not always going to be a safe space.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: You have to... So teaching kids resilience and understanding how to navigate a bully is more important than telling them that, that the bullies will somehow go away.

They won't. I've experienced workplace bullying and, and I've experienced a lot of different things even, and it's happening now. There will always be bullies.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And so the key is to learn how to navigate around them, to not get scared, and, and handle the [00:35:00] situation

Travis Bader: Yeah, I like, I like that. Resiliency training.

Have you heard, uh, have you ever read the Dr. Seuss book, uh, Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew? But, uh-

Dallas Brodie: No. I, I've read a lot of his, but which one is this? Um...

Travis Bader: It's probably one of my favorites. It's a, uh, wee little lad who's, uh, never had any troubles. Well, at least very few, right? But... And he starts having some troubles, and so he tries to find his way over to this magical place called Solla Sollew, where they never have any troubles.

And, uh, and of course, as he travels on, he finds- Um- ... more and more troubles and more and more problems and, and it ends with, uh, "I've learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, some come from behind. But I've got a big stick I'm ready, you see. My troubles are gonna have troubles with me."

And basically-

Dallas Brodie: Oh, I love it.

Travis Bader: Yeah. It's just, uh, it's the resilience part. And I agree, sticking your head in the ground, pretending that there isn't anything out there and it'll all go away, well, that doesn't fix it. It sounds nice. Like, it would be great if it did, but it [00:36:00] doesn't. The resilience part is what builds a strong community and a strong person, and allows people to then teach others to be resilient.

Dallas Brodie: I mean, I think a lot of men who teach their sons to hunt, and I guess their daughters too, they're teaching them something about the cycle of life. And, and there's a strength that you're building in them. And I have daughters, and I've tried to also give them the, the independence to do for themselves. My mom used to say, "Don't rob from children the joy of doing for themselves."

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And this is very important advice that she probably heard when she was a little girl, too. Ch- children need to be strong. It's a big world out there. The competition is fierce, and we are only undercutting ourselves by telling them that there's going to be a safe space. There are, there are none.

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: And we, we... Y- you won't [00:37:00] always be able to... Yes, you can have friends and people to take care of you, but really, it comes down to being able to navigate this big world, and it's easy if you have the tools.

Travis Bader: Well, and I think we'll talk a little bit about school in a, in a bit here. It's funny, when I asked you to, uh, steel man your case, the first thing you came up with was the first question in the, the platform.

So you kind of, uh, addressed that one. Uh, the 25% cut to every income tax bracket, personal and corporate, plus two points off the PST. So what would that look like for a family? What does it cost in year one, and have you done costing on it?

Dallas Brodie: We've done some costing on it, and I just, you know, I don't have all my exact numbers here with me, so I'm just gonna say that I, I really just have the overarching, um, uh, ex- The overarching message that I have, but basically, um, in conjunction with this, [00:38:00] we believe that, um, an audit of the government, a full audit, uh, to find out where the waste is as well.

Uh, I mean, basically Okay. There's gonna have to be cuts to government in any event by whoever becomes the leader of this, of this province. The civil service has ballooned by, I believe it's 39% since David Eby took over and since COVID. Mm. I mean, this is insanity. Um, we're gonna have to cut the civil service by at least a third.

And so there will be cuts and, um, there will have to be changes to the way our health system is, is run because we're spending more and more money on it, and it's delivering w- worse and worse service. And so basically, I, I keep saying British Columbia is in need of an, of an intervention.

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: To put everything on pause and get the experts [00:39:00] in and say, "We gotta turn this ship around.

We, we cannot lurch forward like this anymore." So I think- So- ... for most British Columbians, they... A 25% income tax cut, so I just don't have the numbers in front of me, and I'm sorry about that. I should've, but...

Travis Bader: Well, I mean, I... From what I researched, the NDP says it would blow 10.6 billion hole in the budget.

That's in quotes. But I haven't seen their math either. I've looked, and I haven't been able to find that. Um, I mean, it's, it's nice to, nice to say. I'm just curious how, how- Well- ... the plan is to get there.

Dallas Brodie: The plan is that th- that basically there is... Sometimes you have to take the risk of how this is gonna go.

But what we've been doing, just taxing and spending and taxing and spending, has got us into a, a terrible situation, and doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is what, you know, the definition of in- of insanity. Right. So we have to stop doing that. We have to return money to British Columbians, and they can say...

And then we need to start [00:40:00] digging in for the waste. I've said I bet we could erase a, a, you know, a huge chunk of that deficit just through waste and getting rid of these, these pet projects that are floating around in government. You wouldn't believe the money that gets talked about in the legislature.

And, um, it's easy to throw around money when it's other people's money.

Travis Bader: Mm. OPM.

Dallas Brodie: Nobody else can spend this way. Right. And I would bring my own ethics about spending money to the legislature.

Travis Bader: Mm. All right. Well, let's, um... What do we got here? Um, s- you were on a podcast with Mark Nixon and- Yes ... and I think you mentioned something about every ministry finding 10% savings-

Dallas Brodie: Yes

Travis Bader: or you're, or you're fired. Does that include health and education?

Dallas Brodie: Yes.

Travis Bader: Okay. Um-

Dallas Brodie: Well, it... Okay. Yes, it would. You find the waste. You've got to find it. It's there. And, um, and then I believe that that will have to happen, because cutting the fat out [00:41:00] is the first part. Campbell also did that, and it was a really good exercise, because they need to sharpen their pencils and say, "What are we doing here?"

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: And then you get down to what the schools really need and you have a look at things from a new perspective

Travis Bader: I've got one here about, uh, the federal gun buyback. So got a big star beside it. It says, "No provincial part in the federal buyback. Legal help for gun owners, a provincial storage program." Could you walk me through that?

Like, who would qualify? Who holds the guns if there's a storage, and, and, like, under what authority? Like, what, what, what does that look like?

Dallas Brodie: Well, we, our policy says, "No provincial government participation in any federal firearms buyback or confiscation program," I'm just reading from it- Hmm ... "for legally acquired firearms."

The provincial legal representation provided, there will be provincial legal represent- provided to firearm owners having their [00:42:00] firearm rights violated by the federal government. And a provincial firearm storage program in case federal buyback or confiscation programs risk taking a law-abiding British Columbian's legally obtained firearms.

People on our team have more knowledge about how this would operate, but my understanding is that basically we would allow them to store it with us so that they can't be taken, and we just, you know, take charge of that and probably find, you know, a contractor who can be that, that recipient for the- Hmm

firearms that are being confiscated. And, um, I don't think that would be a very difficult, uh, thing to arrange, and we get maybe a group like Silvercore or someone to handle the situation. I mean, the government hires contractors all the times to do things, and we would, you know, probably work with a group who understands how to store firearms and deal with that.

Tag them, label them, and hold them.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And, you know, hold them until... I mean, the point is we don't wanna see legal firearms [00:43:00] owners having their, their firearms taken away. Uh, I don't know why they wanna take away firearms from legally owning people with licenses.

Travis Bader: Yeah, people who are vetted, people who've gone through background checks, done the courses, criminal record checks, reference checks- Yes

and on an ongoing daily basis, but they'll say, "Oh, but look at all this crime that's happening out there. Look at all those crime guns. Let's, let's go over this easy one over here. These people that we already have their names and numbers and have shown- Well- ... that they're gonna comply."

Dallas Brodie: Correct. Well, it's always easier to, um, i- impose rules on people who are law-abiding.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And what I've often said is that the laws in Canada seem to only be applied to the law-abiding people, and then the other people who run around like maniacs stealing and doing bad things aren't even getting any punishment anymore, and this is a reversal of how it's supposed to be. W- you're supposed to be arresting and charging and going after the bad people.

Travis Bader: [00:44:00] Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: But it's harder to get those guys, and we're, we are sitting here, and we're easy to, because we're good and we're law-abiding and we don't wanna get in trouble. Hmm. And so we do as we're told. Um, I was told in my Silvercore course that apparently you can get weapons with serial numbers removed on the streets in Vancouver.

You can buy them. I mean, why aren't they going after that situation? That's- That's really the problem, isn't it?

Travis Bader: That's where they should be looking. I mean, people are getting these from someplace. Most of them, the stats show, smuggled across the border and then sold in urban areas to nefarious individuals who wouldn't have get a firearms license or abide by the law to begin with to do things that are illegal with them

Dallas Brodie: And I was told that there are also 3D printers that are making, uh, firearms.

I don't know how that would work, but they're making firearms out of plastic 3D printers.

Travis Bader: I mean, it, a person doesn't have to go too far onto YouTube [00:45:00] to find the materials from Home Depot and make a shotgun. Uh, screw, a pipe, a cap, and another pipe, and bang, you got yourself a little slam fire shotgun.

It's all over the internet and YouTube. Are gun owners, have I ever seen anybody do that? Any lawful, legal person? No, because it's a garbage gun, and it's illegal. And the, the people that we deal with all abide by the law But access is- And I, I think

Dallas Brodie: most firearm arms owners are people who are the most connected to the reality of life

Travis Bader: Yes.

Hunters, firearms owners. I think you were saying something earlier about the respect that, uh, taking a child out f- hunting teaches them for, for life, not just the animal's life, not just the life of the... As you're sitting at the table, and I'm not gonna waste this meat because I realize that this was a living creature before, but also the cycle of life and death and how we interact with each other.

There isn't, there's less of a, [00:46:00] um, a desensitization to that that's found through social media, movies, video games that, uh, closed caskets, b- closed, uh, uh, abattoirs, and all the butchering happens behind closed doors, and they just get this packaged meat that comes out. When people start understanding that connection between life and death, I think they start treating each other differently too, and they start respecting their own lives and the lives of those around them differently.

Maybe people would debate me on that, but that's, that's a feeling that I've, uh, held close.

Dallas Brodie: I agree with you, and, you know, I've never killed an animal, uh, myself, but I know that how hypocritical it is for a person who lives in the city to be against hunting when they go and get their package of ground meat at the store.

I mean, and I've heard that if you, uh, go and see an... If you spend a day in a slaughterhouse, you would never eat meat again.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: It is not a [00:47:00] pretty sight. And, um, but we are in the city. W- we are spoiled and s- soft, and we don't get it.

Travis Bader: And so- Well, there's a disconnect ...

Dallas Brodie: it's a disconnect.

Travis Bader: Yeah. Um-

Dallas Brodie: And I, yeah.

So- And it's not our fault. We just don't have to do it every day, and I've come to really admire the hunters amongst us who actually track an animal, make sure it's not injured. Like, they're, they're, they're actually very ethical, and I'm, I don't claim to be an expert in hunting. I'm not saying that, or firearms.

I'm just a really, a beginner. But I've gained respect, and I also think that the conservation aspect of what hunters do is so important. And, um, if I were premier, I would call in all the hunters and anglers and, and basically say, "You guys, you've got four weeks. Go away. Come back and tell me what we need to do."

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: What do we need? G- come back. Tell us what the plan is for... What are the problems? What do [00:48:00] we need to do? That's the way to manage things

Travis Bader: I think, I think you get some pretty interesting, uh, feedback from that. And y- you know, like I, I look at some of the management processes that we have in British Columbia and then I look at other countries.

Uh, like for example, I was in Sweden, and I look at how they manage their moose population, and it's completely contradictory to how we would think about it over here in British Columbia. Really? They don't have the same... Oh, yeah. I mean, in BC here, they've got a big initiative o- over the cow moose, and they said, "Don't shoot the cow moose."

And I realize that we've got open seasons in certain places at certain times, uh, to hunt the cow moose, but that's mama and we want more, we want more moose. I'm like, "Yeah, yeah. Totally makes sense to me, right?" Go over to Sweden, and I'm getting a briefing. It's like, "Okay, so here's how it goes. So if you see a bull moose and a cow moose."

I'm like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Shoot the cow, or shoot the bull moose." He said, "No, no, no. Shoot the cow moose. The bull's a breeder, and you want the bull moose, the adult, to be around." I'm like, "What? Okay." He says- Wow ... "But if you see a [00:49:00] cow moose with some calves," and I'm waiting for it, he says, "The ethical thing is to shoot the calves."

I'm like, "Hold on, like that's completely backwards to how we do things here." He said, "Well, what do your numbers look like?" So I get on AI and I pull it up, and I'm like, "Okay, so w- they've got way bigger numbers, way..." Uh, their management system, and they incorporate the hunters into it, just like what you're, uh, suggesting there.

The hunters are a big part of the process, and they work with the government. But th- their management process is producing a way higher number of, uh, uh, moose and regenerative. And the one cavi- Really? Yeah. The one caveat I'd throw in there is they don't have the same predation that we have, uh, over here.

Uh, but it's starting to happen. The wolves and such are, are coming in. So that, that might be a, a wrinkle in the, in the whole, uh, number system, but it's totally backwards to what, [00:50:00] uh, we would look at, but it's working for them

Dallas Brodie: Well, uh, you know, this is, this is why having working groups in the different areas, like even in the medical situation, I, I was at a meeting, I don't know, last year or something, and some of the top young, young cardiologists and the, the, the heart surgeons-

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm

Dallas Brodie: came over to talk to me. These are men in their prime, late 40s. These are the top guys.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: They came up and they spoke to me and they said, "Dallas, we have been trying to get in touch with the government, get appointments to tell them what's going wrong. They don't even answer our calls." Imagine that y- you're trying to run a medical system and you won't listen to your top players.

This is like Wayne Gretzky tries to come and tell you what's wrong with the ice, what's wrong with the pucks, why it's not working, and you say, "Sorry, Wayne, we don't wanna talk to you."

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: You go back. And, and this is, this is horrible. We need the, the subject matter [00:51:00] experts to come in and help government.

People who are elected to office are not special. They are just people who managed to get elected. I am not special. I am a person who used to just be a citizen, and I don't claim to have expertise in every area, but I know how to delegate, I know how to run a business, and I know how to get good people around me.

You can't be good at everything.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: So, but you do need to t- contact the top people, speak to them, take in their expertise, and then you can start fixing things. But if, you know, if you think that these MLAs know how to fix this stuff, you're wrong

Travis Bader: I gotta wonder, and it's probably already being used, I think, I think government's using, um, AI.

Microsoft's got a government version of Copilot or something like this. But I, I gotta wonder what role AI will play in future, uh, government decisions, because you can get all of the experts, let's say the cardiologists together, and that saying [00:52:00] to a hammer everything looks like a nail. But they're gonna provide an expert approach and opinion from their perspective on what the issue is.

And then you can get the experts from, um, I don't know, uh, the, the nursing, and then you get the experts on, uh, all, all the different areas that could possibly fall into play on the, um, the current medical system we have in BC, and create a project folder, put it all together, weigh it all out. Like, is that something that government does or would contemplate?

That's not one of my questions here, but it just popped in my head.

Dallas Brodie: You mean using AI to do that?

Travis Bader: Yeah. Yeah, because I mean, it's, uh, you can say, "Well, we consulted all the experts." Well, sure, we consulted all the hammers, and they said everything looked like a nail, right? Um, AI can now... You can consult much larger groups, much larger da- databases, and it can start sifting through.

Uh, and-

Dallas Brodie: I, I think that AI is an incredible tool. Um, it is amazing what you can get done in [00:53:00] a short period of time with AI.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: It's sort of like, um, to me this is a technological jump. Just like when we realized we could have answering machines at home, and if someone phoned you and you weren't home, now they could leave a message.

I mean, I actually found it irritating 'cause I didn't want to come- ... home to listen to messages. No. But my grandparents didn't like it either. They're like, "I'm not home. I don't want you leaving messages." That's

Travis Bader: right.

Dallas Brodie: But we all had to get used to this new thing, and then it developed more and more and more.

And it, and so there are benefits to it. Some people don't like it. But AI, there are benefits to it. But there's still nothing to replace the human being, what we are doing right now, the discussion and the, the human compassion and the discussion that comes into how are we going to manage these situations.

That's where God that created the brains we have, um, it, that can never be replaced by AI. It cannot be. This conversation cannot happen between two robots. Dallas Brodie is not a robot. Travis Bader is not a robot. [00:54:00] We are here, but we can use AI as a tool to help maybe narrow the discussion and figure out, like, in grand, in grand, um, grand s- uh, picture w- where the, the areas are, and then we lay it out, and then we call in the people because the people are the people.

Hmm. You

Travis Bader: can't

Dallas Brodie: design a plumbing system without talking to plumbers.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: You need the plumbers there to say, "Never gonna work." "Because this will do this, and this will do this," and, um, yeah.

Travis Bader: Right? They got that experience. I don't know. I can see a future where, um, people... And again, totally a ADHD moment, but I could see a future where people vote on AI models and parameters that they say, "Yeah, that sounds fair.

This is what we'd like to look into." And then government can start allocating, uh, different resources and research groups and the rest into that model, and the model spits out, based on the parameters that you placed, and the people wanted this, this would ran- ranks 83%, uh, effective towards that [00:55:00] goal. I don't know.

It, I, I can

Dallas Brodie: s- Very... It's an interesting idea.

Travis Bader: I, I, I can see that in, in that because there's no one's ever gonna be, uh, happy about the, uh... You're not gonna make everybody happy, and everyone's gonna have a different approach. But there's, uh, possibly a way to, uh, bring fairness and equity into how that... or transparency, that's the word I'm looking for, into how that, uh, approach is arrived at.

Dallas Brodie: I love what you just said, you're never gonna make everybody happy. I watched a, a, a, a movie on the way home on the plane the other day. It was a, an, uh, a self, a Elvis Presley movie, and it was in his own words, and it was previously unreleased footage from his concerts. And, you know, Elvis was an incredible performer, just incredible.

But he's, he, apparently pins were coming out at one point, u- um, I hate Elvis. There was I love Elvis, but then I hate Elvis.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And the guy said, "There are people saying that you're bad, and people really hate you, Elvis." And I thought, "Oh, my God. Who hated [00:56:00] Elvis?" Okay, but they did. There were people who hated him, and y- you know what his answer was simply this.

He goes, "Well, I'm a performer, and I just know that I can't make everybody happy."

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm. "

Dallas Brodie: But I'm making some people happy, and I just have to live with that."

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And I took that in because I thought, even Elvis had haters. I have haters, and I just have to live with that and say, "I can't make everybody happy, but I do have the best intentions for the province, and you can take that to the bank.

And maybe the way I do it isn't what everybody wants or whatever, but I..." If Elvis had enemies, then it made me just feel better.

Travis Bader: Well, well, I, I think that approach is something that, uh, a lot of people have to take. They have to have the courage to be able to stand up and say, "This is what I believe in, and here's why.

I have to be open to reasonable persuasion." I always told my kids that, right?

Dallas Brodie: Yes. "

Travis Bader: Here's the rules. Here's what we're doing, but you know what? I'm open to reasonable persuasion. If you can present a case that says [00:57:00] otherwise, I'll, I'll hear it out, and if I agree with it, 100%," right? But you have to, um, a- as a leader, be able to have that courage to be able to stand up and be hated.

Dallas Brodie: And being a leader doesn't mean just listening to polls. Being a leader means putting forth an argument and explaining to people why it's crucial we do this. That's leadership. Following polls is followship. Hmm. That is not... Leadership is harder.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: Leadership is much harder than just listening to polls, and you might- you're gonna be up against heavy headwinds sometimes.

But it's like with children, they're not always right. You can let them have their opinion, and I used to say to my daughters- ... "Okay, good argument, counselor, but we're still doing this." But, you know, but I, I wanted to hear what they... I didn't wanna slam them down, but someone has to make a decision at some point.

And, you know, the decisions have to be predicated upon [00:58:00] facts, honesty, and, uh, you know, integrity.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And the big picture, and what's best for the most people.

Travis Bader: Yeah, a mutual understanding in the approach that you're taking so that you can effect a desirable goal.

Dallas Brodie: Yes.

Travis Bader: I've, I've, I've got a couple of more firearm-related questions, a couple wildlife questions- Mm-hmm

and then the, uh, the every voter questions.

Dallas Brodie: Um- Don't ask me too many tricky questions about guns. I'm still figuring out what a magazine and how to get the thing out.

Travis Bader: Well, you know that already. You did the course.

Dallas Brodie: Yeah, I did that, but, uh, you know what I mean. I'm no expert.

Travis Bader: Um, okay. Uh, well, let- Let's

Dallas Brodie: hear it though.

Travis Bader: I'll try. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll keep it as, uh, broad as possible. So we've have, uh, our municipal police departments, and a lot of them have come around and said, "Yeah, we're not taking part of any sort of gun, gun grab, any buyback program." And then we've got our, um, uh, federal police, the RCMP, [00:59:00] which are provincially appointed.

Would you... Like, currently what we do in BC is the different departments are allowed to make their own decision. If a municipal department says, "Yeah, we're not doing it," then they send the federal RCMP in. Would you be telling the RCMP, "Yeah, you're not taking part of this"?

Dallas Brodie: Yeah, isn't that we've said-

Travis Bader: If you said that already, I missed it

Dallas Brodie: Just no provincial government participation in any federal firearms buyback or confiscation program for legally acquired firearms

Travis Bader: Okay

Dallas Brodie: Does that answer that?

Travis Bader: I, I think, yeah, I think so. So, I, that would be the federal RCMP operating under provincial, or the pr- yeah, provincial authority. So the province would say, "No. We're, we're not participating

Dallas Brodie: in this." So we wouldn't participate in that provincially. I mean, some people have said 1BC should push for its own British Columbia police force, and that's a whole other thing that I would consider.

If someone brought me a plan for saying [01:00:00] why we should have a, you know, a British Columbia police force, that would be an interesting concept, but that's, that's an, a next step. And,

Travis Bader: you know- Would have to be thought out and looked through and-

Dallas Brodie: Yeah, it'd be fun to look at that.

Travis Bader: So BC's chief firearms officer is federally appointed, and we've got our opt-in and opt-out provinces.

Uh, a number of the, uh, different provinces, so we've got seven provinces, uh, including Alberta and Saskatchewan, have provincially appointed chief firearms officers. Would you look at having a provincial chief firearms officer?

Dallas Brodie: If that's what the legally, if the legal, uh, firearms owners are wanting, I would definitely look at that.

If that would help the, the, the legal firearms owners in this province, I, yes. Absolutely. Why not?

Travis Bader: Yeah. Why not? I, I look at, uh, Alberta, and I think, and I look at their chief fire in Saskatchewan, and they can bring local issues and, and nuanced, uh, matters in a [01:01:00] way that are very difficult to apply federally, that are much easier to apply within the province.

Dallas Brodie: Well, put it this way. Government is always done better when it's closer to the people that it's governing. Um, the further away they get, the less they really care about you as a person, and they don't know the details on the ground. For example, I've even said, uh, if I ran for mayor of Vancouver, that would be suitable for me.

I grew up in Vancouver. I know Vancouver. But I can't run for mayor of Richmond, a suburb just outside of, an, a city next door. I don't know Richmond.

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: It's not, you know, I don't organically know Richmond. So the more you know where you are and the people, and also municipal governments do the really, the, like, the, the really trench work, the, the gutter work of, of politics.

They're dealing with the nuts and bolts. And I think that the m- the more the federal government is involved in the daily lives of British Columbians, the worse it gets.

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: We need to bring things home, bring it down, bring it down, bring it [01:02:00] down so that people, um, because I do believe the vast majority of British Columbians have the best interest of this province at heart.

Um, I believe most, you know, the vast majority of them want clean rivers and fresh air. And you know, the, you know, saying that you're a conservative, you don't care about the environment, that's hogwash.

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: Who, who, who wants a dirty environment? And the people who pour paint in, in, uh, in, uh, rivers and things, they should be, they should have the book thrown at them, okay?

But you're going to jail for 20 years, or you're getting such a fine you'll never crawl out from under that. We don't want people like that. But the vast majority of British Columbians, I think, know what is best for BC. We love this province. And I think the more we bring decision-making down, including this chief, uh, firearms officer, I think that would be amazing.

Travis Bader: I've got some, uh, wildlife and land questions. Um, so right now you get a basic hunting license, about, uh, $32. I'm trying to remember how much it is. About 80% of [01:03:00] that goes to general revenue, and about 20% of it goes to Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. So it's about two and a half million a year across all licenses.

Do you think all license money should go to Fish and Wildlife, and is that something you might wanna consider?

Dallas Brodie: Yes.

Travis Bader: That was an easy one. Um.

Dallas Brodie: That money doesn't belong in general revenue for them to piss it away on some other project. If it's being raised by the users of the conservation and the wildlife and so on, they will put it where it is most desperately needed, and you have people who know what they're doing on the ground who direct the money to where it n- is needed.

Um, and you get good ethical people to manage that. And, and but to... This, this whole thing. Remember the GST that Brian Mulroney brought in was supposed to go into paying down the debt? Remember those days?

Travis Bader: Yeah.

Dallas Brodie: Remember

Travis Bader: that? I remember that. Uh-huh.

Dallas Brodie: And I had friends. I was in law school back then, and I wasn't very political at all, but I had friends who had gotten jobs in the prime minister's [01:04:00] office, the PMO, and apparently the money that came in during the GST, the begin- It was, like, so much money, the government was like, "Oh."

Like, it was just, like, a, like a, a, a, a waterfall of money. They had never seen so much money rolling in, and of course the, it was such... To, to, to politicians of that stripe, this is so exciting. Look what we can give people now. We can spend, spend, spend.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: That money was supposed to go down to paying down the debt, and then the GST was supposed to be canceled, remember?

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: I do. And so if there's a tax for hunting, that should go back into that specific cause and not being used to, to just fritter away on, on general revenue items.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm. I heard, like, right now our third line item, if I'm not mistaken, we've got for, uh, expenditures for the province, uh, is gonna be, uh, health, education, and the third one is just paying down our debt.

Dallas Brodie: Interest. [01:05:00]

Travis Bader: Hmm. It's gonna be interest. We have

Dallas Brodie: 100, 194 billion in debt. That's one thing, but our deficit is now pushing up to 14 billion.

Travis Bader: Jeez.

Dallas Brodie: And I, and when Eby came in, he had a $6 billion surplus. So we've, we've, we've run through 6 billion and now another 14 billion. Think about that. So I try and put it in context.

14 billion is 140 times 100 million. And this election- It's such

Travis Bader: a big number. Pe- people, it's hard to conceptualize. Yeah. It's such a big number.

Dallas Brodie: It's such a big number, and people... But this election, for example, this election that's completely unnecessary, uh, is costing basically the better part of another 100 million.

So we've just added, we're now at, s- let's say we're now at 14.1 billion deficit. And who would do that to a province that's already struggling? It's reckless

Travis Bader: Yeah, I don't understand that one at all. I mean, I, the [01:06:00] cynical side of me can draw its own conclusions, but it... What's the purpose of this election?

I mean, d- didn't the NDP already have a majority? Yes. Aren't they able to, with that majority, affect, uh, changes that they want? And I think the, uh, the main reason that I've been hear- hearing thrown around is because of Trump, a federal problem. I mean, I, I'm, I'm having a hard time with this. And like I say, I'm not...

I'm a l- bit of a political neophyte, but it's, um, uh, it's not making sense to me.

Dallas Brodie: I think it was just a crass effort to take advantage of the center right finding itself in disarray. Mm-hmm. Which it is. So it is a political move, strategy.

Travis Bader: Okay. Um, let's look a little bit more at, um, uh, wildlife and habitat.

Uh, let's see. Moose are down by half. We were talking about moose earlier. Uh, or more in some regions. And caribou at or... They're about 17,000 from about [01:07:00] 40,000. So who's accou- I didn't

Dallas Brodie: know that. Is that right?

Travis Bader: Oh, yeah. It's massively down. Uh, so who's accountable for turning that around, and how would we know in four years' time?

Dallas Brodie: Wow

Travis Bader: Yeah, it's a, it's a... And, and everyone's got their ideas and theories. Some people say, well, it's 'cause of logging practices and logging roads creating highways for predators and easy access. And, uh, like, some say it's the way it's being managed currently. Uh, predator management needs to be addressed and, but it's...

The, the numbers are down sig- significantly.

Dallas Brodie: But the numbers are down year over year from, from when? There have always been logging roads in BC, going right back to pre-World War II. Sure. So that, that cannot be... I mean, we've had logging roads and, and these kinds of things going on in the wilderness in British Columbia, even with the building of the Cana- Canadian National Railway.

I mean, you know, and transmission lines [01:08:00] and, you know-

Travis Bader: That's a good

Dallas Brodie: question ... I, I don't see how that would be the answer. I, I'd like to... I'd have to be educated on it and tell me, "Well, what do the hunt- what's going on out there?" I don't... I, I actually didn't know this at all, so.

Travis Bader: Well, okay. Uh, well, that, that was a question that was posed, and we'll just, um, uh, some people will point to, let's say, wolf reduction to protect caribou, which is very politically unsavvy, because wolves look like, like your pet dog.

Uh, or the grizzly moratorium that was put on a, uh, a number of years ago. And then, of course, we find, I think it was Tahltan Nation, uh, Chad Day had a $1,000 a head, uh, bounty for grizzly bears. I think that... I don't know if that's still operating. I think Blueberry Band had a, um, uh, a similar sort of incentive program because the grizzlies were becoming a problem.

Is that something that has, uh, [01:09:00] been brought up to you before, that you've, uh, had any thoughts on?

Dallas Brodie: No, it hasn't. And I've never even heard it brought up in the leg., if you wanna know the truth.

Travis Bader: Interesting.

Dallas Brodie: I've, I've not heard anything about this. In, it's, in the time I've been in the legislature, this has not been discussed.

The, the, the drop in numbers or how we're gonna manage different predator animals by taking out the, I guess, the ungulates is- Mm-hmm ... um. And so I, you know, that's precisely the type of thing where we get the subject matter experts in a room and say, "Guys, what's going on? What's the problem- Hmm ... here, and how are we gonna address it?"

And, uh, you know.

Travis Bader: Well, if it's not being brought up in legislature, maybe that points to a deficiency in the process for, uh, advocacy groups and, uh, uh, scientists and how they're, they're relaying that information.

Dallas Brodie: I guess it is, because I, I, maybe they just don't have a receptive ear in the NDP. I don't know.

Travis Bader: [01:10:00] Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: I mean, I don't even wanna believe that the NDP wants our conservation to go down. I mean, there's a lot I could say about them, but- I'm sorry, I don't, I don't have the answers for that or what I would say. Mm. But that is very concerning and, uh, would have to be looked at and addressed in, in a way that's sensible

Travis Bader: For, um, okay, next question.

Uh, and Who would have the final say on crown land access and hunting seasons, and how is the public heard?

Dallas Brodie: Well, this issue of access to Crown land is coming up due to different, um, bans claiming Aboriginal title. Is this sort of what you're talking about? The access to Crown lands needs to be dealt with by the c- the p- the, the government of British Columbia. There was a lot, there were some pretty heated [01:11:00] discussions in the leg this spring about even some of the conservatives who finally found their feet on this issue said, "Who is governing this province?

You or the Union of BC Indian Chiefs? Who is in charge?" And Eby really couldn't answer this.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And we cannot have people running this government, namely First Nations leaders, who are not accountable to the people of British Columbia I draw a hard line there. Hmm. If you're not voted in by the people of British Columbia, you don't get to govern us.

And this is part of the erosion that we're seeing and why we're seeing street name changes and this slow movement towards what they're calling decolonization. And they are asserting a title, right and title, over vast tracts of British Columbia. [01:12:00] Secret agreements are being done. It's already hit the Sunshine Coast, and I'm...

I know your listeners are probably aware of this, so I won't go on and on about it. But this has to be paused, and we have to reassert that this is a democracy that has a legislature, and that is where the rules are made. And there can't be a, a specific group that represents less than 2% of the population of our province basically having veto power over all of the things that our government does.

Hmm. I don't know how this happened, but it got very heated in the legislature this spring.

Travis Bader: And that's all from, uh, unceded, being unceded. I think, uh- Yeah ... it's, um... I, I, I think treaties are difficult, and they take a long time, but they seem to be the, uh, uh, the process to reach a level of, uh, of resolution.

Because it... [01:13:00] From my understanding, and like I say, I, y- I think most people look at, uh, let's say, uh, indigenous land and, and reconciliation and what, what different nations, what happened and, and where things should go. I think most people get on board, and they're like, "Well, yeah, there is some atrocities, and there's some, there was some, uh..."

Just like in the Catholic Church system, there's atrocities, and there's, there's things that need to be looked at and addressed properly. But I think for most people in British Columbia, that ends at fee simple

Dallas Brodie: But Fee Simple is a bit of a distraction as well, because only a certain small portion of the province is covered by Fee Simple title.

Mm. I believe the total is... I, I forget the total number of Fee Simple ownerships in the province, but it really is only about less than 5% of the land in this province. The crown jewel in British Columbia is our crown land.

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: That is, we are a very abundant province with [01:14:00] riches beyond the wildest dreams of people.

Even in China, the soil is depleted. They're running out. They're looking for resources. This is their Belt and Road Initiative. They're going all around the world looking for resources, and British Columbia has a very small population and vast, vast resources. Do you realize our province is b- is bigger than Washington, Oregon, and California put together?

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And, uh, and we only have six million people. I mean, think about that. I also like to draw the comparison between us and California. Their debt, their deficit right now is running at, like, I think it's 3.4 billion. They have seven times, six or seven times the population that we have, and that's too big a deficit even for them.

And here we have this tiny population, and remember, in that population probably what percentage are children, they're not working. Mm. I mean, 5.8 million people living here, and we have a deficit of almost 14 billion. Something's very wrong y- and-

Travis Bader: Yeah ...

Dallas Brodie: and so, um- The

Travis Bader: numbers aren't adding.

Dallas Brodie: No.

Travis Bader: So here's some easier [01:15:00] questions.

See, every vordo- voter ones, I tried to put them into different, uh, categories. So working couple in Kamloops can't afford a place. What's different for them in four years?

Dallas Brodie: If I'm in government-

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm ...

Dallas Brodie: they will have, uh, lower taxes. Uh, that'll come right off the top. They will see a return to, um, their children will not be subjected to, uh, indoctrination in their schools. Um, everyone will be entitled to apply for jobs, both w- in the government and at the schools again. Right now, they're only allowing certain people.

They've got these DEI requirements at schools saying that you have to be this or this type of person to apply for jobs. That'll all be gone.

Travis Bader: I didn't know that. The- Yeah ... in the schools right now, y- y- they- they've got strict DEI hiring requirements.

Dallas Brodie: Oh, yeah. They put out job requirements saying you have to i- self-identify as either Black or trans or Indigenous.

Like, yes, this [01:16:00] is on... And we've published them often on our webs- on our, my X account saying, "Look at this. Um, this is wrong." We, they will see a return to a, a society based on merit and achievement, and that will, that's gonna be a very big bump to families, and they will see a return to their parental rights being fully supported.

And, um, if they're upset about something that's going on at a school, they have the right to go in and make a complaint and not be told that they're not allowed to ever come back on the school grounds again, which is what's happening right now.

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: Do you have a safe- Um, they will see a, oh, and they will see a cleanup, and their communities will be safer because we will st- cut down on the drug traffickers.

I mean, where do I start? I mean, the, we will crack down on repeat and violent offenders. We will, um, we will, we will make sure that people who are violent will be kept in jail. No more of this, "Well, they had a tough life," thing. No, we can't have this. The kids are being scared. We will stop the proliferation [01:17:00] of drugs.

We will recriminalize drug, um, possession and all the things we used to do and go after these traffickers. Remember when we were growing up, if you were a drug, drug trafficker, you could get life in jail.

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: Remember?

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that was, uh-

Dallas Brodie: We used to ca- when we, I was growing up, they were called pushers.

Travis Bader: Where was I hearing about this? Yeah, pushers. The pusher

Dallas Brodie: man. The pushers would circle the schools, and they, you know, it was a... They were not welcome. And, you know, so a family will see a, you know, their streets become safer. They'll see their taxes go down. They'll see more agency given back to them in h- terms of how they run their families.

Travis Bader: So those are repeated offenders and open drug use. Uh, what would, what would the biggest change look like to help address that?

Dallas Brodie: Well First of all, get the people off the streets and start reopening the mental hospitals for people who are severely mentally [01:18:00] ill or so beyond the pale with their addictions that they're no longer able to function.

Um, we will get them into places to live. I think we really need to o- reopen Riverview and get things up and running again for the severely mentally ill and, um, hopefully for the people who can, get them back to leading productive lives. But we cannot allow people to lie in the streets anymore. There are children down there and l- lying in the rain and so on.

I, I mean, and how does this affect families? Well, walking down the street and seeing someone walking around with their pants hanging down and w- seeing needles on the ground is very negative for children to see this. And, and, you know, going to the park and seeing people using drugs, and open use of drugs, it all has to stop because it has a, a bad effect on our children when they see this kind of societal decay.

And it's not happening everywhere else. It's just really bad here in British Columbia.

Travis Bader: Hmm. Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: Yeah, I- It's not everywhere in the world like this. [01:19:00] Yeah,

Travis Bader: that's a good point. I, I always wondered... I think, uh, when BC was looking at safe injection sites and, and for decriminalization, they said, "But, but look at these European countries.

Look at Switzerland or look at Portugal and look at what they're doing, and they seem to have it figured out." But they didn't adopt all the other steps that went along with it, like, I don't know, uh, counseling and rehabilitation programs and access to, uh, resources that can help somebody turn their life around.

Uh, it was just, "Okay, well let's just, let's turn off that switch, and now go ahead and, and use drugs." But they didn't, they didn't adopt the other areas of it, and it, it... From my research anyways, none of that really made sense, and the outcome just seemed inevitable.

Dallas Brodie: We are enabling drug addiction right now.

We need to go back to saying, "This is a one-way street to death," and telling kids, "Don't, don't do it." And we [01:20:00] need to get strong on that messaging again. For 40 years, we tried to get kids off cigarettes, remember?

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: When we were growing up. When I was growing up, in grade eight is when a lot of my friends started smoking cigarettes and-

Travis Bader: Hmm

Dallas Brodie: you know, it took a long time for us to s- stigmatize smoking. You're not allowed to use it in restaurants, on planes. You can't even stand within six feet of a, of a office building. But now it seems to be perfectly fine to walk down the street smoking marijuana.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: I mean.

Travis Bader: Yeah.

Dallas Brodie: We've switched from cigarettes, saying it's so horrible, but oh, marijuana and, and injecting things in your arms in front of people or in your feet or in your neck just on the street is okay now?

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: Uh, it seems like a very dystopian scene f- uh, that we're looking at here, and I- Uh, it's, it's... I keep saying it's just time to get back to basics

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm. Um, okay. Uh, let's see what else we got here. [01:21:00] Uh, so and we've basically talked about this one, I think, but this was a big one. The Richmond owners in the Cowichan claim area, they're worried.

What, what do you tell them? What's your position in the appeal?

Dallas Brodie: Huh. This one's a real mess.

Travis Bader: Yes.

Dallas Brodie: Well, we got a big problem there because, uh, that trial went on for, I believe it was 10 years. The property own- owners were never notified, and I think it was, like, close to 600 days of trial, which is extraordinary. And in the context of it, when David Eby was the attorney general and Jody Wilson-Raybould was the form- federal attorney general, they issued directives to the lawyers acting for the governments that they were not to use the strongest argument against this land claim, [01:22:00] which was extinguishment So they went into court fighting with their hands tied behind their back and couldn't use their strongest legal argument a- against this claim, and the extinguish- extinguishment argument is that when fee, fee simple title was granted, all other claims were extinguished.

That's a basic explanation of it.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And so that is what... So they said you can't argue that anymore.

Travis Bader: Why?

Dallas Brodie: Well- ... why, to me, that's like saying Michael Jordan has to run with only one arm. Uh, uh, uh, he has to tie one hand behind his back. Why? To make him weaker.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: To make his, his play weaker so that he loses the game.

So I have to say, why would you weaken your government lawyers this way, the federal ones who participated and the provincial ones? They now went in there with a weaker hand, and they, and they lost.

Travis Bader: [01:23:00] Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: They lost. And so the only explanation I can say it is that they wanted them to lose.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: Now they're worried because the property values, it, it, they're in big trouble now because it's come out and the judge has proclaimed that the fee simple title is, is subordinate to the Aboriginal claim.

And that the band has said, "Well, we won't actually kick you out of your houses, but we do own it."

Travis Bader: Yeah. That doesn't ex- dis- extinguish the fear. No. Because you don't know. That might be today, you don't know what tomorrow is.

Dallas Brodie: But then David Eby said that we'll compensate the homeowners for their lo- we'll comp- we'll give money to the band instead of th- the property owners losing their title.

And I'm thinking, "Wait a second. So you've done this thing, you've, you've rigged the game that the, the court case has been lost, and now the BC taxpayers are gonna have to indemnify the band on your behalf for your decision. So we have to pay [01:24:00] them now for the value of all of these homes."

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: That's not an answer.

Imagine that spread out over the whole province, which is what's happening. You know, it, it, we can't... What's the value of all the homes in Vancouver?

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: For example, with the new Musqueam agreement that's been extended over, the federal government made a deal with the Musqueam Indian Band saying they have right and title over a huge swaths of the Lower Mainland.

Um, the same problem is there. But- And they'll say, "Oh, no, no, we're not coming for your houses," but they'll own everything around you. The streets, the boulevards, the, the parks, the, the sea walls, the, the foreshore.

Travis Bader: Well, aren't there-

Dallas Brodie: Including what, Fraser, Fraser River. Yeah.

Travis Bader: I, I forget how many. It was like 260 or somewhat.

I'm, I'm sure my numbers are wrong here, but different, um, nations within British Columbia.

Dallas Brodie: And- There are 200 and f- uh, 204, give

Travis Bader: or take.

Dallas Brodie: 204.

Travis Bader: Okay. And then overlapping territories. Yeah. 'Cause I remember I went on a, uh, [01:25:00] a map. I think it was, um, it was an online map and it would show you all the different territories and where they were.

And it, it covered all of BC except, if I recall correctly, one really small area of swamp land which nobody was claiming. But aside from that, they're overlapping everywhere. And so I gotta wonder, like, how is it a... How do they arrive at Cowichan, this is your land here, when there's so many different competing claims and overlap?

And then I heard, like, you go across the border and there's nations down there that are, uh, saying, "No, no, no. That's ours. We, we gotta get in on this." Yes. Like, I, I don't understand this whole process. I really don't.

Dallas Brodie: Well, you and me both. It's just-

Travis Bader: Okay ...

Dallas Brodie: I mean, this is the problem. It, it, it... And it's not the average Native person who's, like, trying to do this.

It's a power play. It's- Hmm ... there are bigger forces behind this. We've got the Tides Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, we've got the CCP. Everybody's pushing on this and using, I see it as they're using these groups that are, have had a rough [01:26:00] time, to be their front group for getting what they want.

And Sam Cooper's written a lot about this. And what better way to bring a province to its knees? Use a group, shame the population into feeling guilty and not being... If you fight back against it, they can just quickly call you a racist. Hmm. And then so nobody ever says anything again. I, I mean, it's the perfect ploy.

And, and I, and, you know, the native people are not benefiting from any of this as well, like the average person on the reserves. I know because I hear from them, and I, and I want a better situation for native people. All Canadians do. And I've said before, I really believe that a lot of this has been the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And, um, b- Canadians are good, decent people. We care about our fellow Canadians and, um, indigenous and non-indigenous, and this has been a, this is a sad outcome of everybody trying to be appease and be nice. And, uh, [01:27:00] you know, even with our children, sometimes if you just keep giving them everything, you're not giving them strength.

You're not giving them a, a sense of how to be independent and productive. You, you, you just can't. I, I, I believe there should be a final apology and a final a- arrangement about all of this, and we should all start living together and trying to make British Columbia a really strong province. And our native people have so much to offer in that regard.

Travis Bader: Yeah. I, I, I think there's a lot to be said for that. You know, everyone says, "Well, diversity's our strength." Well, take a look at a football team. Everyone, you come from different backgrounds, you do things differently, go play football your own way, 'cause that diversity will be your strength. Well, the, they'll, they're never gonna win a game.

No. They need, as a society and as a team, as a group, you need to have a shared cause that you can get behind, and you can bring your diversity in towards that same direction, that shared direction of loving thy neighbor, prospering, right? Being, being able to, uh, put our current situation [01:28:00] into a better situation.

Um.

Dallas Brodie: Exactly. And I do believe that most, uh, native people would be on board with that as well. But, um, the group that I call the reconciliation industry, I think I've already gone over that with you, the money that's flowing into this, this arrangement is very big. And like anything in life, when the money's flowing, people don't want it to stop.

Travis Bader: Sure. Okay. Um, so one, uh, one listener has, um, what would you do to improve the life for indigenous people, and how would you know it's working?

Dallas Brodie: Well, I would start by m- making every move we could to give each... Allow them to have fee simple title to their properties on reserve. I would like... This is a big project, but I wanna see- Mm

the end of the Indian Act. I want, uh... Right now, Native people have to live in w- what some people refer to, to as ethno-communist enclaves. [01:29:00]

Travis Bader: Mm.

Dallas Brodie: Where they cannot own their own property, and owning private property is the key to prosperity, and has lifted... Milton Friedman, a great economist, has said, "Private property is this single concept or thing that has lifted more nations and people out of poverty than anything else."

Once you have a stake, your whole life changes and your whole focus and how you live. And we know this. I can go down the lane, I can tell you which house has tenants in it and which house- Mm ...

Travis Bader: has Sure ...

Dallas Brodie: has owners.

Travis Bader: Sure.

Dallas Brodie: The tenant's house has garbage all over the place. You know, they're just moving through.

Sure. Getting by, doing their... But this, but the owners have everything folded and so you just can tell. And so we need to give agency to Native people, and also, um, urge them to get into a productive life. And I think that we need, that's the big, big [01:30:00] part, and that's itself an inward-looking thing. But it starts with saying, you can't just live off of welfare anymore.

Travis Bader: So with, um... I, I hear often people talk about intergenerational trauma. Mm-hmm. I've heard of intergenerational resiliency as well. I think that was talked about in the, uh, Truth and Reconciliation report. Uh, at least that's what a friend of mine was, uh, mentioning to me. I haven't read the report, but I should read a, at least a synopsis of it.

Um, I'm wondering how much weight should intergenerational trauma carry in policy?

Dallas Brodie: Uh, really none. Because my family had intergenerational trauma, and, uh, I have some very close friends who have had horrible, uh, they're Filipino, terrible intergenerational trauma, what's happened in their families. I have, uh, [01:31:00] um, I know a good friend who's an accountant. His family grew up during the Cultural Revolution in China, and the trauma that they suffered, his parents were taken out of their home.

They were, I think one was a scientist and one was a teacher, taken away from the family-

Travis Bader: Hmm ...

Dallas Brodie: and put in the fields to work as laborers, and he was raised by his grandma. But he lost his mom and dad. They were sent away. They didn't come home at night. And the trauma that so many people from China have been through, living through that ghastly episode in China where hundreds of millions of people starved to death.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: That, the trauma, there is trauma throughout so many people's lives, and, uh, we can acknowledge it and talk about it and understand it, but I don't think policy should be based on that kind of thing. It is a feeling. It can't be resolved [01:32:00] any more than policy should be based on my problems. I mean, you can have issues rectifying the medical system to make it better, educational system to make it better, but I don't know how that really fits into the actual running of government.

I think it's better dealt with through therapy and, um-

Working. In the toughest times of my life, it's my work that's carried me through. Go to work, Dallas. Just get up and go to work. And almost all deep problems can be resolved by getting up and going to work and keeping a schedule, and I think that's the answer for a lot of people.

Travis Bader: It's interesting. I just did a podcast with a fellow who, uh, was an addict, um, heroin from 15 till, I think if I recall correctly, [01:33:00] 21, 22, around there.

And I said like, "Why?" And he says, "'Cause it gives you purpose. It gives you a reason to get up. It gives you a reason." And he's... Which I've never heard that before. Um, and he's found a different purpose of course, and he swapped his purpose for his hard work and his work ethic, and then became a bodybuilder and started running his own businesses, and he's got a reason to be able to get up.

So in- interesting that you say that. The, um, uh, what, what gets you through is essentially that purpose of, of work.

Dallas Brodie: I think that, yes, work is really important to humans. We need to feel that we're doing something useful, and, um, that's helping... Something useful each day.

Travis Bader: Mm-hmm.

Dallas Brodie: And I've taught my daughters this too.

Working is one of the greatest things. It gives you self-esteem. So [01:34:00] maybe you don't do well in school, but you're terrific working in that restaurant. Mm. What a boost. So not everybody's great at school, but they're just fantastic at running, being a chef in a restaurant. Mm. And this becomes their, like, their sweet spot, and they've got it made.

They've got friends, they've got a system, and then that's the place if you're having troubles and you're having, suffering from some of the things you suffer from, you develop a friend and a network at work, and people are there for you. Um, I think that, um, you know, I'm, I go to church. It helps me with when I'm down, and we need to find ways to, um, restore ourselves when we're feeling sad or down or that life isn't bringing us what we expected.

And we have to remember life doesn't promise you anything.

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: Um, and people might feel sorry for you in the moment, but really they've gotta get back to their own families and get dinner on the [01:35:00] table tonight. So they can't, there can't be this endless stream of pity for people. Uh, a documentary I saw really opened my eyes to this.

Uh, I don't know how old you are, but during the Vietnam War, there was a, a picture that changed the course of the war of a little girl running down the street with her arms out to the side, and she was a little tiny girl. I think she was about seven, and she was naked. Her clothes had been burned off by napalm- Right

and her skin was all burning. It was such a sad picture, and I saw a documentary. She survived it, and she was taken to a hospital in the United States to, uh, get her, get her treatment, and her mother came to visit her, and the, and she said, "The first thing my mom said to me is, um, 'Don't pity yourself. The world will not pity you.'"

Travis Bader: Hmm.

Dallas Brodie: I thought, "Wow, there's some wisdom from the ages." I took, I made a mental note of that one. It's- Pretty tough stuff, but there you have it. That, the woman was right. Get up and get going. [01:36:00] Don't fall apart.

Travis Bader: Yeah. Yeah. I, what is it, said, that British slogan, the f- stay strong, carry on, uh, whatever it was during the wartime.

Keep

Dallas Brodie: calm and carry on.

Travis Bader: Keep, keep calm, carry on. That's right.

Dallas Brodie: Yep. You know- And Churchill said, "If you're going through hell, keep going."

Travis Bader: Yeah, that's right. Don't

Dallas Brodie: sit down in the middle.

Travis Bader: Yes. That's brilliant. I love that quote.

Dallas Brodie: Yeah. Keep going. There's no other choice. If you sit down, you'll get behind, you'll be lost.

You have to get going, and this, I think, would be the greatest thing for young Native people to hear this, not, um, t- to hate people and be angry at w- Whitey or whatever they say. Like, this is not helpful to their kids. Um.

Travis Bader: There's, there's a... When I look at it, and this is not one of my questions here, but you brought up some interesting things.

Um, I think people quite often forget the human behind what's being said, and people don't give each other grace [01:37:00] long enough with their TikTok attention span to say, "Well, what do they mean by that? They just said this. Are they a racist?" There it is. TikTok attention span, they're a racist. Are, are they, are they a terrible person, or what are they trying to get at?

And what's the root of the, of that issue? And how do we get there? 'Cause maybe we both agree. And I find more and more often there's people with completely different ideas from me, but we agree on, like, more than you'd ever think, right? It's like, uh, let's say, okay, so I don't consider myself a gun person.

Other people consider me a gun person, 'cause I've got a firearms business and been around guns, and I'll have an anti-gun person, and they'll say, "I don't want guns." Okay, why? "Well, I don't want people getting hurt, and I don't want them getting injured, and I don't want..." And I'll go, "Well, guess what? I don't want any of those things, too."

So how do we get there, right? And but I, I find that people forget the individual. Like, I, I look at the attacks that people make against you and other politicians on the [01:38:00] individual as opposed to the idea, and I find that this polarization is v- re- a really effective political tool, and people are being pulled into that into binary, you're left or you're right, you're this or you're that- Okay

you're with me or you're not. And most of these- Right ... issues are way more nuanced. Um, how, how do you see that? Because I think the table has been set in a way, um, who was it? Socrates who said that, uh, he doesn't like democracy 'cause not everyone should be able to vote. And I don't disagree with him on that one.

He says, "Why, why should, why should a, an, a, somebody who studied this for their entire life and looked at all the ins and outs, why should they be allowed to put and have equal say as somebody who's never looked at the issue at all before," right?

Dallas Brodie: It's true.

Travis Bader: Uh, uh, and I look at it maybe, maybe an expert witness approach.

Sure, you qualify as an expert, but we're gonna put little weight in your evidence, right? [01:39:00] Or sure, you qualify as an expert, we'll put a lot of weight in your evidence. Um, h- how do we- It, and, and so when I say the table's been set, the table's been set for the average voter, and the average voter is gonna be somebody who says, "I don't have money, I want money.

Government's taking my money, so cut taxes. I don't like this, I see crime, let's, let's..." And they turn these things into really simple, uh, these complex issues into, uh, simple TikTok, uh, solutions. How do we start steering politics in a way where we can encourage strong leadership, people who are brave, people who are open to reasonable persuasion?

They say, "Well, I thought this, but based on all the evidence, I didn't actually realize that if we went after the bull moose instead of the cow moose or vice versa," right? "Uh, thing, things are gonna be different." How do, how do we change that table, or do we? Do you have to play on that table in order just to get in?

Dallas Brodie: Well, if your question is about, uh, how do we get people to understand [01:40:00] like why a government is doing something and why it's not as, uh, like I think it has to do with l- leadership frankly.

Travis Bader: Right.

Dallas Brodie: It, it has to do with, as a leader, it is your job to speak to the people regularly and tell them precisely what you're doing and why you're doing it.

Part of my fury about what's going on is it feels like we're being run by government by stealth. We are never told what they're really doing. I've even heard in my own life, "No, no, no, Dallas, we just say this during the election. Afterwards, we do all the things we really wanna do." "We, we, we just, we just have to get elected."

That's true. That's what they're saying. I've heard people even in the Conservative Party now saying that.

Travis Bader: Hmm. "

Dallas Brodie: We have to just get elected, and then we can do whatever we want." I don't like that approach, do you?

Travis Bader: No,

Dallas Brodie: no. I wanna know what I'm buying when I buy it, and I, and I, um, think the, uh, part of the... This is a big part of the problem, is that government is not leading.

They, l- leadership [01:41:00] means getting in front of the people and saying, "This is what we're doing. This is why we're doing it. This is who we've consulted. This is what we're gonna try. The previous way is not working at all." Hmm. "And we are going to do this. If we see in two years this is a calamity, we will reverse course, and we will adjust."

Uh, like if you're in a boat, and you're going ahead, and you, you've got your p- autopilot on and your compass point, if you see suddenly a deadhead, you don't keep going on that compass point. You, you know, you have to go around it. Mm-hmm. Um, so you, you, you have to be nimble, and you have to listen to people.

And, you know, I may have an opinion now on something, but if I meet with a group that says, "Dallas, that's way," I will, I would listen and say, "Okay, convince me." Because what I'm seeing is this, but you need to convince me that this is, this is a better way to approach this. Um, and so, and removing the ideology from polit- politics is [01:42:00] very important.

Most decisions made based on ideology are bad ones. Hmm. You need to deal in real world, uh, dollars and cents, just like we have to in our households. We can't afford this trip. We can afford this trip. We can't do this. Even ideologically, we would like to be on the beach in Fiji. But really, we can only go to Osoyoos.

So, so only. I think Osoyoos is beautiful, but-

Travis Bader: Yes ...

Dallas Brodie: so you have to, uh, that's the kind of, uh, thing I think we need to do, and perhaps it's better communication from government and less lying.

Travis Bader: Hmm. What three things would you do in your first 100 days?

Dallas Brodie: Tax cut Uh, eliminate Soji God, I, I have a lot of things I would do. I would immediately, uh, stop all volunteer and transfers of money, land, and power [01:43:00] to, um, indigenous bands in BC. And p- and, and bigger than anything, uh, can I say one more thing? Of course. I would start a full, full audit of the government along the lines of what they did down in the States.

The Doge do that. Because... And get subpoena power and everything so that we find out exactly where all the money has been going, in detail, everything, and publish that to the population of British Columbia.

Travis Bader: Has that ever been done before?

Dallas Brodie: I don't think so.

Travis Bader: In BC?

Dallas Brodie: My understanding is the auditor general doesn't have subpoena power, and that needs to change as well.

We need to be able to get everything we want, and I think there should be hearings of ministers saying, "We wanna ask you specifically what's going on here."

Travis Bader: Hmm. "

Dallas Brodie: And you should know because you're the minister, and you better come ready to answer questions. And we... Because you are in charge of billions of billions of dollars, and I'm not seeing the necessary oversight that needs to be in these [01:44:00] situations."

And, um, I think British Columbians would, and myself, would be shocked to know where money is going right now, and I think we need to get to the bottom of that. That has to be step one.

Travis Bader: So if you were to talk to a listener who's never voted for your party, why should they look at you?

Dallas Brodie: Because I'm a person of integrity and honesty, and I'm really hardworking, and I, I believe in British Columbia, and I wanna bring br- prosperity back to everyone in this province, not just a chosen few.

People are struggling. The average person is not doing well. I was stopped by a man in IKEA little while ago who's recognized me, and he said, "Dallas." He's standing with his wife and son. He said, "I'm making $200,000 a year," which used to be a really good income. He said, "We're barely making ends meet."

Travis Bader: Wow.

Dallas Brodie: And this... Something's gone terribly wrong because I remember when making $80,000 here was a really good salary.

Travis Bader: [01:45:00] Sure.

Dallas Brodie: And we lived well on that. And so, um, I say to these people, "Try something new. Voting for the same old thing is not working. We need an intervention. OneBC is that intervention, and I will be engaging with the top people in this province to go into different ministries and find the answers for you.

I'm not gonna be expert on all of them, but I can find those experts, and I know how to bring in good people."

Travis Bader: Is there anything that we haven't talked about that we should talk about?

Dallas Brodie: I don't think so. We've covered a lot. It

Travis Bader: was pretty-

Dallas Brodie: And I would like to say that I love British Columbia. I love Vancouver.

And what I'm seeing is a terrible managed decline, and it needs to stop, and there's no reason for it. There's no reason we should be living this way with drug addicts on our streets and people suffering like that. There's no reason. It's just become an industry. So we, we can make the [01:46:00] changes. Brace for impact.

There will be some pushback. But, uh, you know, it's just like when you take away your kid's laptop, do you... Is he happy? Nope. Nope. And there's a bit of screaming and yelling, but I believe that with strong people in government, and I have amazing group of people running for OneBC, and I think we could really make a difference in this province and hold the line for the normal, decent people of British Columbia.

Travis Bader: Dallas, thank you for so much for being on the Silvercore Pod- Podcast. I really appreciate your courage and stepping right up and, and doing this.

Dallas Brodie: Oh, you're very welcome. And, and thank you to your listeners.