On this edition of Journal, we look at what is happening in our economy. It is a tumultuous time, quite apart from tariffs. Housing prices, while falling, are still unaffordable for many. Real estate companies have been forced to lay off long time employees. Forestry companies are in big trouble. Youth unemployment hit 14.6% this summer – highest since 2010. And governments are announcing unbelievable deficits.

As well, many citizens are turning against one of the principles of what it means to be Canadian: immigration.

A Nanos poll showed an erosion of support, with 71% of Canadians either strongly or somewhat strongly wanting to reduce the number of immigrants. Most of the wrath is focused on the careless way in which the numbers of Temporary Foreign Workers and international student visas were allowed to balloon, putting pressure on housing, healthcare, education, and social services across the country.

As mayor of Port Coquitlam, Brad West is no stranger to taking the brunt of policies designed by another level of government – the forced densification of British Columbia’s municipalities by the provincial government, which he calls “throwing urban planning out of the window.”

Brad also laments the lack of real action on involuntary care, when we need at least one other forensic psychiatric hospital to care for those who are in desperate need of help. Then there is decriminalization that precipitated such disorder on our streets.

So, it is not surprising that Brad West also has something to say about our economy and immigration. However, his analysis may surprise you.

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On this edition of Journal, we try to find truth amidst all of the contradictory data and headlines on housing.

Not long ago, there was one newspaper story lamenting the disastrous state of residential construction and another story (the very same day) saying things were looking up.

And then, the confusing headline – “Housing starts are up but sales are down.” Huh? What does all this mean?

One thing to know is that in the real estate business, “starts” are a lagging indicator – that means those “starts” are about the past, as contradictory as that sounds. Many of those projects were initiated several years before today and may have been years in the developing / permitting / financing process and are just now in construction – thus, the use of the term “starts.”

On the other hand, sales tell you what is happening real time. How many actual properties successfully changed hands this quarter? How many built condos are sitting empty? One estimate says there are more than 2500 newly built, never lived-in condos available in Metro Vancouver – the highest number in this market in 25 years. rennie Intelligence calls this a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for buyers.

But does availability mean affordability?

And why so many layoffs in the housing industry?

Ryan Berlin is the senior economist and Director of rennie Intelligence and the man leading a team of housing experts analyzing the data and the public policies shaping our housing market.

He has always been generous to me with his time, his analysis, and his predictions of where we are in the housing cycle and where we might be headed.

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On this edition of Journal, we talk with a woman who embodies the gold standard of leadership. What does it take to be a great leader?

Crystal Smith, Chief Counsellor of the Haisla Nation from 2016 to 2025, was a major public voice supporting LNG Canada in Kitimat, at a time when opposition was vocal and sometimes vicious. But she stood her ground. Crystal believed that only through economic development would she be able to help lift her people out of poverty and despair.

And she did it. LNG Canada is now operational and Cedar LNG, the world’s first to be majority owned by an Indigenous nation, is on its way.

Today, if you visit the Haisla Nation (as I have), you will see a large recreation centre hosting sporting and cultural events, a beautiful health centre offering mental health and addiction support, as well as seeing to the basic medical needs of the community. Overall there is a sense of confidence and well being in the Haisla Nation. Much gratitude is owed to Crystal and former Chief Ellis Ross.

But what did it take to become the leader Crystal is today? It wasn’t easy. She has talked emotionally about her personal or family connection to sexual abuse, drug addiction – and suicide.

Was being a woman an advantage or a disadvantage on this journey?

Was being indigenous an advantage or a disadvantage?

There are lessons to be learned from one woman’s already successful life – and she’s just beginning.

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