Echo Essentials Podcast

Matt Parfitt, of the Parfitt Farm, visits the Echo Essentials Podcast studio to highlight city restrictions on rural and agricultural land use that he feels are not science-based and unfair to rural property owners several kilometres away from Trout Lake. He also said the city has recently approved additional development of lots right on Trout Lake, the city's source of drinking water that the restrictions were intended to safeguard.


Co-hosts Scott Clark and Dave Dale, meanwhile, end up in a mini-debate in front of Matt about how open the city and council should be regarding public access, both at City Hall and when participating in public meetings such as Town Halls. And in the opening banter, Scott and Dave debate how much info is really necessary in the minutes of city council meetings.

Adam Dennis, the Battalion's new president and director of hockey operations, visits the Echo Essentials Podcast studio and talks about his hockey journey as a Memorial Cup winner, NHL-drafted goalie and European league pro ... and how that experience shapes how he develops players.

ln the pre-interview banter, co-host and Echo owner Scott Clark takes co-host Dave Dale to task for getting something wrong in a previous podcast about Mayor Peter Chirico. They also discuss the recent hike to bus far rates and whether the city is doing a "cash grab" as more people (especially international students) use the service.

Town Hall rules, ward system and political motivations are discussed by co-hosts Dave Dale and Scott Clark in this episode of the Echo Essentials Podcast. Media coverage of a recent City of North Bay outreach event sparks the discussion, that also touches on the issue raised in a recent Letter to the Editor suggesting that city councilors should be required to live within the city limits.

CORRECTION NOTE: In the video, Dave Dale said Coun. Mark King was the only elected official residing outside the city limits (he lives in East Ferris, although he has property in North Bay), however, Coun. Gary Gardiner has a similar situation living in the Municipality of Callander (and owns property in North Bay). Both previously resided in North Bay.

The featured guest is Dermot Wilson, who manages a regional group that curates opportunities for artistic expression, including participation in the Broken Forests effort to pay attention to the harvesting of wood and its impact around the world. Wilson, along with Nipissing First Nation's Don Chretien, recently returned from Poland and were in British Colombia and South America earlier this year. "This is part of who we are ... so let's get in there and see it," Wilson said, adding that just the effort to go out into the areas being harvested makes an impact on what happens.

The Nipissing Regional Curatorial Collective, which also goes by NOVAH (Northern Ontario Visual Artists Hive), has established public galleries at several businesses, including 176 Lakeshore and 222 McIntyre St. East.

Tony Limina and Peter Rooney join the Echo Essentials podcast to talk about the Kennedy Fall Fellowship, a 62-year tradition where North Bay business owners and community leaders gather for a social event on the French River.

Co-host Scott Clark, who has attended several of the gatherings, references the positive benefits of the casual interactions between some of the most active movers and shakers in the city.

Co-host Dave Dale reads several excerpts from WKP Kennedy's book 'North Bay' that provides a chronological history of the community, with the manuscript delivered to the printer just days before his fatal heart attack while returning from the French River in the fall of 1961.

It's been a year since the Echo Community Podcasting Network launched in North Bay with the goal of amplifying community story-tellers, creating shows and complementing existing media with the credo: "Local voices should be heard."

Since then we've produced more than 200 episodes of a variety of podcasts and 100 Echo Essentials newsletters reaching tens of thousands of listeners and viewers, beginning with the To North Bay With Love podcast hosted by Lisa Boivin.

This week, founder Scott Clark and consulting partners Erin Trafford and Dave Trafford, of Story Studio Network, and Echo content director Dave Dale go over the highs and lows of an ever-evolving industry. We talk about how some of the assumptions we made were wrong, what pivots were necessary, the reality of the business and the big opportunities to come.

Joining the Echo Essentials Podcast today is former North Bay deputy mayor and 16-year councilor Tanya Vrebosch, who expressed frustration about how the first half of this term is going.
Coun. Vrebosch first took a seat in the council chamber in 2008 after placing 11th in the previous municipal election, but then filled a vacant seat mid-term. It was when Maureen Boldt, a paralegal, was removed from council after missing too many meetings while serving house arrest for the unauthorized practice of laws.

As one example, Vrebosch said council's approval of subsidies for the Laurentian Ski Hill, using the city's reserves last year and again this year, came without enough due diligence of the financial operations. She says her requests for information, and attempts to have the matter discussed as part of this year's budget deliberations, have been disregarded.

Vrebosch finished seventh in the 2022 election after serving two terms as deputy mayor and another as chairwoman of engineering and works. She ran under the Liberal banner in the 2022 provincial election, placing third.

0:00
1:00 Scott gives up on city hall windows issue
3:00 Change in media capacity discussed
12:15 Sponsor ad for Voyageur Aviation
12:45 Tanya joins the podcast
22:24 Dave chimes in
23:07 Sponsor ad for Laframboise Realty
24:00 Laurentian Ski Hill question raised
33:00 Castle Arms issue raised
34:00 Is Vrebosch "ostracized"?
37:00 Needle collection issue
40:00 Political future
42:40 Twin pad project
45:45 Live read ad for Casey's
46.36 Dave changes tune on arena

Paul McLean drops by the Echo Essential Podcast studio to talk about the resurgence of minor baseball in North Bay. The owner of Source for Sports describes how the newest iteration of the diamond sport offers a Panther 'travel' team system with a 'local' league foundation.

McLean, with his boy's 9U team fresh off a provincial championship tournament experience in Sault Ste. Marie on Labour Day weekend, also shares how he and other volunteers are also bringing new energy into 'Hockey for Beginners,' including this weekend's involvement with the OHL North Bay Battalion's preseason fan frenzy activities.

During the pre-interview banter, co-hosts Scott Clark and Dave Dale remember their very-limited sports experience as children and their involvement as parents.

Uphar, this week's Echo Essentials guest, is an international student from Punjab, India who is entering his second year as a Nipissing University marketing student while working part-time at Clark Communications, which owns the North Bay Echo Community Podcast Network. Co-hosts Scott Clark and Dave Dale invited Uphar into the studio as he celebrated his first year in North Bay to talk about his experience so far.

Uphar sheds light on the intense pressure international students are under to achieve not only their educational pursuits but also qualify for work permits that they hope will lead to permanent residency. He said they have to navigate through many challenges, including harsh economic realities and evolving rules set by the federal government. That is why recent protests erupted, Uphar said, as tens of thousands face deportations because certain work experiences no longer count toward their scorecard.

Uphar also talks about online racism, including this summer's "poopgate" that led to virtual battlegrounds between different races. He also describes the exploitation some students face when financial issues force them to work 'under the table' for unscrupulous Canadians of East Indian descent.

In the banter before the interview, Scott and Dave talk about North Bay's Community Survey, the Bay Block Party and BayToday's Aug. 9 article by Stu Campaign that looks into the massive revenue Canadore College gains from international students.

See the article here: https://www.baytoday.ca/local-news/canadore-to-repeat-record-167m-in-international-student-fees-9328179

See the Small Town Times interview with Uphar last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSmi0hX7_Ok&t=52s

Scott McLeod Shabogesic visits the Echo Essentials Podcast studio to talk about his nine-year tenure as chief of Nipissing First Nation, his future and specific challenges his community has overcome and continues to face.

One of the primary topics covered was how the Robinson Huron Treaty Annuity lawsuit and subsequent court rulings and settlement that worked to divide many of the 21 communities involved. Scott describes how the process unfolded, explains 1850 Treaty history, the split between the community as a whole and individuals, and how he advocated for a larger portion to go to the future of the community.

Scott said it was a factor in him losing the election, especially with cheques not going out until after the election, but says new Chief Cathy Bellefeuille was a good choice to replace him. In the pre-interview banter between co-hosts Scott Clark and Dave Dale, it's noted that at least one viewer is starting to like Dave more now than when he was writing salty columns for BayToday and The Nugget.

Echo Essentials Podcast co-hosts Scott Clark and Dave Dale discuss the history of North Bay's past and current community events. They cover the successful recipes and challenges they face, while referencing the Aug. 24 Block Party, on-going Summer Concert Series, the old and potentially-revived Northern Ontario Country Music Singing Contest, former Heritage Festival and former Summer Concert in the Park iterations.

Their featured guest, meanwhile, is Redpath Mining Group's senior vice-president Dave Hansman, who shares the history of the company and its founder, Jim Redpath, including the principles that continue to guide the company. Redpath is one of North Bay's largest private sector employers with 290 people living here and almost 10,000 others working for its various corporations globally.

0:00 2:52 Block Party, Summer Concerts
14:00 Scott is looking 'lobsterish'
17:40 Voyager Aviation Sponsor Message
18:40 Redpath's Sr. VP Dave Hansman
22:06 Community Building here and abroad
27:15 Jim Redpath's Support of Arts
31:10 Principles of Sustainability - ESG
34: 00 Roy Slack, Alex Speirs
37:00 Mining is not 'Dark, Dirty and Dangerous' anymore
43:20 Laframboise Realty Sponsor Message
48:15 Coolest place traveling for work?
51:40 Mining is here to stay
52:44 The Jarvis Clark Connection