Nonpartisan Hacks

Shiny Objects v. Heavy Can: Reconciliation After the Cowichan Decision with Adam Olsen

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What happens when short-term politics collides with long-term obligations?

Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with former MLA Adam Olsen to break down what the Cowichan Tribes decision actually means for British Columbia and why the province keeps deferring the same structural problems.

The conversation traces the pattern: governments chasing headlines, grant cycles built for ribbon-cutting, and a land system held together by avoidance. Olsen lays out how exclusion shaped B.C.’s foundations, why litigation produces lose-lose outcomes, and what responsible negotiation should look like when title is already established in law.

🎧 Listen in for:

  • How four-year (at most!) political cycles block long-term governance
  • Why B.C.’s funding model for municipalities and First Nations is structurally unsound
  • What the Cowichan ruling clarifies about title and why appeals won’t settle it
  • What a depoliticized, whole-of-government approach to reconciliation requires

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    Nonpartisan HacksBy Joel Grenz and Sean Wood