One Foot Off Center - The Small C Perspective

Rick and the One Foot Off Center panel sit down with mayoral candidate Ron Cannan, sitting Kelowna city councillor and former MP, for a long-form look at his platform. Cannan makes the case for a “Campus of Care” model to tackle homelessness and addiction, arguing the city needs real treatment and recovery, not just shelter, plus a regional approach with neighbouring communities. He digs into Kelowna's infrastructure de...

Rick sits down with former Kelowna city manager Ron Mattiussi and Cassidy deVeer to separate real

municipal election promises from empty ones — what city council can and can't actually do.

LINKS
CMHC (housing videos referenced in the episode): https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/

SPONSORS

Soil to Sod Landscaping: https://soiltosod.ca/

Kelowna Rockets: https://chl.ca/whl-rockets/

Jennifer Maddison, RE/MAX: https://www.jen...

The One Foot Off Center podcast panel broke down what ForChange Kelowna should be looking for as it prepares to vet this fall's council candidates.

Does it matter what a candidate did before city council? With roughly 80% of council votes tied to housing, how many names on this year's ballot really understand housing if pressed on the spot?

It's known that councils will spend an hour arguing over a $500 purchase, yet wave through an ...

Should seniors lose the right to vote on decisions they won't be around to live with? Host Rick Maddison is joined by former Kelowna City Manager Ron Mattiussi and CHBA Central Okanagan's Cassidy deVeer to debate age-restricted voting, municipal debt, and why Kelowna keeps falling behind Kamloops on rec facilities. Ron calls the idea "bullshit" and explains why. Cassidy pushes back on who Kelowna's low property taxes actually prote...

A boardwalk that's supposed to be public is closed — and it's headed to court.

Rick Maddison talks with Cassidy DeVeer (Canadian Home Builders Association) and former Kelowna CAO Ron Mattiussi about the El Dorado dispute: who actually has rights to the lakeshore, how the city has handled fights like this before, and where private property ends

and public access begins.

🎙 Hosted by Rick Maddison 🎧 Guests: Cassidy DeVeer...

Kelowna's rental vacancy rate now sits at 6.4%, among the highest in Canada.

With provincial and municipal government policy encouraging development of rentals, some see the rising vacancy rate as a sign that housing pressures are easing. At the same time, vacancies at that level traditionally discourage developers from entering a market.

Kelowna's vacancy was previously as low as 0.6%, which saw rents soar.

"There’s a downside ...

On this week's episode, the panel discusses the impact of potential new Airbnb regulations in Kelowna, highlighting challenges during peak seasons like long weekends and the upcoming Memorial Cup.

Scott Lanigan, says his church does hundreds of weddings every year, and the Airbnb rule changes had a dramatic effect on Kelowna as a destination wedding location.

"With all the people coming here, trying to find a place to stay,...

On this week's podcast, the panel discusses the complex issues facing Kelowna as it balances its identity as a resort destination with the realities of a rapidly growing urban centre.

The discussion touched on everything from street safety and housing to the urgent need for a more robust local economy.

Scott Lanigan pointed a recent list that ranked Kelowna the 122nd most desirable place to live in the world.

"What lowered o...

On this week's episode, the panel discusses dog parks in Kelowna.

Specifically, the City park dog run, which had an original, approved budget of $750,000 with an additional $150,000 placed in reserve from a previous project. On Monday, August 25, 2025, council received a request for an additional $450,000 for the dog run.

Maddison says, "the initial cost was a $750K and now it's grown to $1.2 million, and it's spectacular... I w...

On this week's episode, the panel discusses the City of Kelowna's $27.8 million purchase of land from Westcorp, highlighting the debate over public versus private development.

Rick Maddison asks the panel, "if it's such a good deal. Why didn't another developer buy it? Why would the city wade into those waters?"

Mattiussi explains that the property has been vacant for years, and it has been rezoned several times as well.

"I think...

On this episode, the panel discusses the upcoming federal election party leadership and policies. Jeff Cox criticized the Liberal Party's economic record and what he calls the mishandling of the drug epidemic.

"I can't support a party that, for 10 years, took the the country in one direction, and then did a 180 on almost every one of their policies that they said we needed to live and die by and then today... off we go under new lea...

On this week's episode, the panel discusses the BC Conservative leadership review.

Maddison says the leadership review appears to be taking a very long time.

"I think what we saw was an election that was supposed to go one way. It went another way, and now we're looking at a review. We've had a couple of ridings turn... now we're left with the question, how is John Rustad, how are the BC Conservatives doing in this province?"

Cox...

On this edition of One Foot Off Center the panel discusses the performance of the BC NDP party and the recent challenges with Interior Health, in particular, the closure of Kelowna General Hospital's pediatric department.

The CEO of Simply Benefits, Jeff Cox says he was not impressed by the premier's decision not to attend the recent premiers meeting with new Prime Minister Mark Carney.

"Every premier in Canada in a room wi...

On this week's episode, the panel discusses BC Conservative leader John Rustad's tumultuous departure as leader of the party.

Scott Lanigan and Jeff Cox analyze Rustad's leadership failures, emphasizing the need for self-awareness and authenticity in leadership.

"If I'm a leader, and I'm only getting 70 per cent of the people that I lead to go, yeah, I want to follow that guy. There's a problem, and you have to do something...

On this episode, the panel discussed the recent federal election.

Jeff Cox emphasized the importance of addressing the concerns of conservative voters.

"To me, it was proof that democracy is alive in Canada. You know, votes were up significantly. We're not hindered by conspiracy theories on recounts and things of that nature, at least not in the mainstream," says Cox.

"My message, not that it matters to the Liberals. As a generalizati...

This month, the panel discussed the controversial cleanup of Kelowna's tent city.

Lanigan emphasized the need for viable alternatives for the individuals that will be forced out of the camp each morning.

"Where are these individuals going to go? It's fine to say, hey, we don't like tent city or any city, no matter what jurisdiction you're in, but here in Kelowna, there has to be a viable alternative," he said.

"Unfortunately, in ...

On this week's episode, the panel discusses development, and parking, in Kelowna.

Maddison says there seems to be a run of developments approved in the city that do not have enough on-site parking.

"This of course is due to their proximity to transit. However, driving through this city you can almost tell you which developments don’t have available parking because the streets are jammed with vehicles," says Maddison

Mattiussi su...

On this episode, the panel discusses the challenges of balancing transit infrastructure and density in Kelowna.

Former Kelowna CAO Ron Mattiussi believes the best way to get more BC Transit routes is to have enough people in an area using the service.

"I think in this particular case, they're pretty much forced to have the density to prove out the need for the transit," says Mattiussi.

Jeff Cox highlighted the need for better infrastr...