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Why You Should Listen to This Episode

Katie Bergman is a writer and social justice advocate who has devoted a decade to the non-profit sector, specialising in human trafficking interventions. After experiencing trauma and burnout at the frontlines of humanitarian work, she wrote When Justice Just Is to open a conversation about inner wellbeing and social change.

In this episode:

Katie Bergman joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to share the deeply personal story behind When Justice Just Is - her first book and a call to those doing the hard, often invisible work of helping others.

Over ten years in the non-profit sector, Katie worked with teams around the world - preventing labour exploitation among migrant workers in rural Cambodia, supporting survivors of human trafficking in the US, and protecting at-risk girls from abuse in Bulgaria. It was extraordinary, purposeful work. It was also work that took a toll. A few years in, Katie began to see how individual, systemic, and societal factors were quietly eroding the wellbeing of people in helping roles - including her own.

After her own experience of trauma and burnout at the frontlines, she did what writers do: she wrote about it. When Justice Just Is is a book about self-stewardship for people who give deeply to the world - and a reminder that caring for ourselves is not separate from caring for others. It’s the foundation of it.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson’s website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

Learn more about Katie Bergman: whenjusticejustis.com

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Cheryl Dill has spent years helping build one of Vancouver Island's most beloved summer traditions into an internationally recognized event drawing visitors from all over the world. Laura Palmer is nine seasons into a true crime podcast built on patience, rigour, and deep respect for victims and their families. Two very good reasons to be proud of these Vancouver Islanders.

This Episode Features:

(34:10) Laura Palmer, host of the award-winning podcast Island Crime, has just launched Season 9 - a series called "The Dead File," investigating the unsolved 1959 double murder of Elizabeth and Andrew Kosonic in South Wellington, just south of Nanaimo. Laura was approached by the couple's great-great-granddaughter, who has spent years researching the tragedy on her own. The title comes from a stamp on the actual police folder - "dead file, no further work to be done." Laura talks about the remarkable access she had to coroner's reports, autopsy records, and a psychiatric file, and why the RCMP is still reluctant to release the full investigation file 67 years on. She also updates listeners on Season 1's Lisa Marie Young case and reflects on what separates responsible true crime journalism from exploitation.

(9:15) Cheryl Dill, president of the Parksville Beach Festival Society, joins us to talk about the festival that drew nearly 120,000 visitors in 2025 - one of the highest attendance figures since 2015. Cheryl walks us through the new sand sculpting site, this-year's "Beauties and Beasts" theme chosen by sculptors and the public together, and the magic of seeing those works illuminated at night. She talks about the volunteer army of 200-plus people who make it all happen, the international reach of a festival that draws visitors from Japan, Australia, Madagascar, and beyond, and the Blue Rodeo concert that represents the biggest concert undertaking in the festival's history. April Wine headlines the opening weekend concert on July 11th. Tickets and details at parksvillebeachfest.ca.

Episode Quotes:

"Everybody counts or nobody counts. That certainly seemed true to me in Andrew and Elizabeth's case." - Laura Palmer

"When you look at that diversity of visitors and where they come from by evidence of the pins on the map - it's incredible. Greenland. Japan. Australia. New Zealand. Madagascar. They're identifying that they're coming from all over." - Cheryl Dill

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What happens when the province can't move fast enough and people in your city need help now? In this episode of Non-Partisan Hacks, hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Alto, Mayor of the City of Victoria, recorded live at the AVICC convention.

Victoria is BC's capital city - a mid-sized municipality shouldering an outsized share of the region's housing pressures, homelessness, and mental health and addiction challenges. Mayor Alto talks candidly about what it looks like when a city decides to stop waiting: building 97 new shelter and transitional housing spaces, creating a first-of-its-kind Community Safety, Wellbeing, and Partnerships department, and funding nonprofit service providers when senior governments can't or won't.

She also shares what she's learned about courage, accountability, and adaptability - and why standing in a room full of people yelling at you is sometimes just part of the job.

Listen for:

• How Victoria exceeded its provincial housing targets - and why Mayor Alto was eager to be picked first

• Why Victoria carries more than 80% of the region's social services - and what she's doing about it

• The story behind the Dollar Place facility: two public meetings, hundreds of angry residents, and a decision she'd make again

• How the city's Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan is funding nonprofits to do what the province hasn't

• What she told her council on inauguration day: "Listen, think, and then do good work"

• Advice for elected officials deciding whether to run again - including a frank conversation about vitriol in public life

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#NonPartisanHacks #VancouverIslandPodcasts #LocalGovernment #BCPolitics #MunicipalGovernance #VancouverIsland #VictoriaBC #HousingCrisis #Homelessness #CivicEngagement #PULSECommunity

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode

If you’ve ever been told you can’t - and refused to accept it - this episode is for you. Kaleb Dahlgren speaks from a place of hard-won strength: as a survivor of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy, a #1 bestselling author, a community builder, and a young man who spent his entire hockey career proving the doubters wrong. His story is one of extraordinary resilience layered upon resilience, told with a vulnerability that makes it genuinely unforgettable.

In this episode:

Kaleb Dahlgren joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to share the journey behind his memoir ‘Crossroads’ - and what it truly means to find strength in vulnerability.

After losing 16 members of his Broncos family in the tragic 2018 crash, Kaleb navigated grief on a scale most people will never face. Yet his story of beating the odds began long before that April night. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age four, he was told by hockey coaches and scouts that he would never succeed in the sport. Rather than stepping back, he used that negativity as fuel - working relentlessly to play at the highest level of hockey each year of his young career.

Inspired by his own challenges, Kaleb founded Dahlgren’s Diabeauties, a program that uses hockey to raise awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and support children living with the disease. In 2018, he received the Canadian Volunteer Award for Emerging Leader of the Prairies. He graduated from York University with a Commerce degree, was named the Most Outstanding Male Graduate for Varsity Athletics, and is now forging his next path as a chiropractic student and keynote speaker.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson’s website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

You'll find all episodes of the PULSE Community Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok and YouTube.

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#KalebDahlgren #ResilienceProject #HumboldtBroncos #VancouverIsland #ParksvilleQualicum #ThePulseCommunityPodcast #CindyThompson #VancouverIslandPodcasts #parksvillenews #vancouverislandnews

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Ethan Askey has carried a harmonica in his pocket for the better part of 30 years - from campfires on the Alsek River to festival stages in Europe, from Junior Wells' living room in Chicago to the studio in Kimberley where his new album Outside the Lines was born. He is a storyteller who found the blues by digging backwards through his dad's record collection, and every story he tells feels like a song. Ron Thorogood built a life around cars and the community they carry - from drag strips in Calgary to leading the charge to bring one of Vancouver Island's most beloved summer events back to the beach at Parksville Community Park on July 5th.

This Episode Features:

(28:32) Ethan Askey is a singer, songwriter, and blues harmonica player based in Cranbrook, BC. Known in music circles as Shorty, he spent decades as a sideman and session player before stepping out front with his 2022 debut album Walk When You Wanna Run, which spent over 160 weeks on the Canada Roots and Blues Top 50. He leads Ethan Askey and the Elevators, whose new album Outside the Lines is now out and features contributions from Steve Marriner, Susie Vinnick, and Jimmy Bowskill. Ethan talks about walking a fish through the South Side of Chicago to Junior Wells' door, headlining the Baltic Blues Festival in Germany, and what 30 years of always having a harmonica in your pocket really means. Contains the song "Swing Like That." ethanaskey.com

(07:58) Ron Thorogood is one of the key organizers behind the Parksville Car and Bike Show - the revived, rebranded Van Isle Show and Shine returning to Parksville Community Park on July 5th. Ron moved to Vancouver Island from Calgary nine years ago, bringing a lifetime of drag racing history with him, including a 1970 Plymouth Duster 340 that won back-to-back pro titles in 2000 and 2001 and that he owned for 50 years. He talks about reviving a show that once drew a thousand cars to the beach, why there are no judges and no trophies, and why - for him - it has never really been about the cars. https://www.car-show.ca/

Episode Quotes:

"It has nothing to do with a car. Really what's behind the car is the people. The whole community of people is what drives me." - Ron Thorogood

"Everywhere I go, I've got a harmonica in my pocket. It's a thing." - Ethan Askey

We've had the pleasure of sitting down with musicians from across Vancouver Island and beyond - explore more stories and interviews on our Vancouver Island Musicians page.

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode

If you or someone you love has ever felt like an outsider in a world that wasn’t built for the way your mind works, Santiago Dominguez speaks directly to that experience. Diagnosed with high-functioning autism, Santiago opens up about the exhausting daily effort of navigating school, building relationships, and searching for a sense of value in a world that often misunderstood him. His story is one of hard-won resilience - and a powerful reminder that difference is not deficit.

In this episode:

Santiago Dominguez joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to share what it truly meant to grow up with high-functioning autism in a world that rarely made space for the way he experienced it.

For Santiago, every school day felt like a war - a constant negotiation between who he was and what the world expected him to be. Complex peer relationships and a deep desire to be understood shaped his early years. But through it all, he found his way to something more grounding: a rediscovery of his own value, on his own terms.

Now 24, Santiago is a real estate photographer, a history student at Vancouver Island University, a high school tutor, and a youth coordinator at Maranatha Church in Nanaimo, BC. Through his work with teenagers facing similar struggles, he channels his own experience into something purposeful - helping young people see what he had to learn for himself: that autism is a personality, not a disability. 

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson’s website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

You’ll find all episodes of the PULSE Community Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok and YouTube.

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#SantiagoDominguez #ResilienceProject #VancouverIsland #ParksvilleQualicum #ThePulseCommunityPodcast #CindyThompson #autism #highfunctioningautism #parksvillenews #vancouverislandnews

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Matt Sager brings a 1940 Ford five-window coupe and a classroom full of students to turn a rescue car into a raffle that could raise a million dollars for the kids at Cowichan District Hospital. Sam Wiebe has spent a decade building one of the most compelling crime fiction series in Canadian literature, and his sixth Wakeland novel takes the detective out of his Vancouver comfort zone and into the Fraser Valley - where ghost guns, a teenager in danger, and a corporate consulting gig he hates are all waiting. 

This Episode Features:

 (26:00) Matt Sager of Mill Bay became known across Canada as the star of the History Channel's Lost Car Rescue, hunting down forgotten classics from barns, ravines, and forests alongside his brother Steve. Now he's channeling that passion into Classics for Kids - a program he built at Queen Margaret's School in Duncan where students are restoring a 1940 Ford five-window coupe from a Langford garage to show-ready condition. The car, owned by the Cowichan District Hospital Foundation, will be unveiled at a car show on July 5th at the school and then tour western Canada as a rolling raffle with a million-dollar fundraising target for the pediatric ward. https://bit.ly/ClassicsForKidsQMS

 (07:47)  Sam Wiebe is an award-winning, best-selling author of Pacific Northwest crime fiction based in New Westminster, BC. His Dave Wakeland series has earned him the Crime Writers of Canada Award and the Kobo Emerging Writers Prize. In his sixth Wakeland novel, Guns Across the River, private eye Dave Wakeland pulls a teenager named Nicola from False Creek - and finds himself chasing a shipping container of untraceable ghost guns from Vancouver's back alleys all the way to the Fraser Valley. Sam also previews his forthcoming nonfiction book Shot in Vancouver, a deep dive into the movies and TV series filmed in BC. https://samwiebe.com/

 Episode Quotes:

"Pairing someone who's been through the wringer and is very much a lone wolf with a teenager who's in danger, but is also capable of violence and going down the wrong path herself - I thought would just be an interesting challenge to Dave." - Sam Wiebe

 "The ultimate goal is to have the kids have this amazing well-rounded experience about using their hands to create something that is greater than themselves - for the greater good of other children." - Matt Sager

LISTEN: We have had the chance to talk to many authors from across Vancouver Island and beyond — explore more stories and interviews on our Vancouver Island Authors page.

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Recorded live at the AVICC convention in Victoria, this episode of Non-Partisan Hacks brings a remarkable guest to the mic. Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Meed Ward - Mayor of Burlington, Ontario and co-founder of ElectRespect - to talk about the growing crisis of harassment, abuse, and threats facing elected officials at every level of government.

 Marianne has received death threats, been told by police not to attend her own public meetings, and watched colleagues leave elected life entirely because the personal cost was too high. Rather than stepping back, she helped launch a national movement. ElectRespect is now a cross-country campaign with hundreds of elected officials and over 60 municipalities signed on - the pledge is straightforward: commit to respectful democracy, lead by example, and ask the same of colleagues and constituents.

Listen for:

• The real-life incidents - including death threats linked to a local development application - that pushed Mayor Meed Ward to act

• Why the tools available to municipalities to deal with misconduct are dangerously limited

• How social media, bots, and post-COVID anonymity turbocharged political toxicity at the local level

• Why women, people of colour, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQ officials face a distinctly more personal and threatening form of abuse

• What ElectRespect is actually asking people to do - and how any elected official or member of the public can sign the pledge today

• Why changing the culture has to start with politicians themselves

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode

If you've ever wondered what it takes to break a cycle - of trauma, of violence, of generational pain, this episode is for you. Henry McKay speaks with a clarity and courage that only comes from having lived through the very things he now works to prevent.

In this episode:

Henry McKay joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to share a story of intergenerational trauma and intergenerational resilience - and the critical elements that helped him find his way through.

Henry is a father and fourth-year Social Work student at the University of Manitoba. Drawing on his own experiences with childhood trauma, abuse, poverty, oppression, drug dealing, and street gang involvement, he speaks honestly about what it meant to move from a life of alcoholism and violence into one of healing, hope, and purpose.

Today, Henry works as an Action Therapist with at-risk youth in the child welfare system. His mission is to help prevent or reduce the harm of substance use and gang involvement, while introducing Indigenous ceremony to youth navigating some of the same circumstances he once faced. In asking "if not you, then who?" - he answers that question every day with his work and his presence.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson's website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

You'll find all episodes of the PULSE Community Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TikTok and YouTube.

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#HenryMcKay #ResilienceProject #VancouverIsland #ParksvilleQualicum #ThePulseCommunityPodcast #CindyThompson #intergenerationaltrauma #indigenousyouth #healing #parksvillenews #vancouverislandnews

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Kyle McKearney stopped chasing what the industry told him to be, went home, made the record he wanted to make, and had it mixed by the same engineer behind Chris Stapleton and Beyonce. Eva Hilborn decided at 95 that she wasn't done yet - and built a literacy charity from scratch that now puts free books in the hands of 500 children every month. Two guests who took their own road, and made something remarkable.

This Episode Features:

(25:23) Kyle McKearney, Metis singer-songwriter and frontman of The Outliers, is bringing his To The River Tour to Vancouver Island this summer - including Sunfest at Laketown Ranch, Rock the Range in Qualicum Beach, and the Parksville Museum Concert Series. Raised in Fort St. John and now based in Alberta, Kyle grew up in a musical family - his dad spent eight years chasing Nashville with the East Coast Riders, and his grandparents played dances and weddings across western Canada. Kyle co-produced his most recent album with Russell Broom, had it mixed by Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson, Beyonce) and had five songs featured in the season 18 finale of Heartland. His band, The Outliers - which includes his wife Sarah on vocals and guitar - plays country, Americana, and bluegrass with a soul and swagger all their own. Contains the song “Wedding Day”. https://www.imkylemckearney.com/

(06:16) Eva Hilborn, retired early childhood educator and founder of the Wonderful World of Books, started her charity at age 95, inspired by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Now 99, Eva is still involved in the program that delivers free, personalized books to 500 children across School District 69 every month - from birth to age four. What began with 25 books delivered by neighbours in Bowser has grown into a volunteer-powered organization with 50 to 70 dedicated volunteers, multiple grants and sponsors, and a partnership with the Qualicum Beach library. Kathy Van Herwaarden serves as vice president. Eva's secret to a long and active life? Keep busy. Keep a job. Do something positive. https://thewonderfulworldofbooks.com/

Episode Quotes:

“It just has its own thing - it's a group of highly skilled, highly talented musicians who have a lot of swagger and soul and could essentially play any genre of music.” - Kyle McKearney

“Children who have 80 or more books in their home progress greater. The children, they're happy to get a book each month.” - Eva Hilborn

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(Wedding Day - McKearney)

#KyleMcKearney #ToTheRiverTour #VancouverIsland #VancouverIslandMusic #WonderfulWorldOfBooks #EvaHilborn #Literacy #SunFest #ThePULSEPodcast #VancouverIslandPodcast #ParksvilleNews #VancouverIslandNews

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