Finding Solutions with Dan Albas

Tammy takes listeners back to August 1982, when three generations of the Johnson and Bentley families set out on a camping trip to Wells Gray Provincial Park. She recalls the weeks of searching, how the news reached the children at school, and how a frightened community changed. She also credits the RCMP detectives whose work exposed the real motivation behind the crime.
Tammy explains how she became involved in 2008, when David Shearing first became eligible for parole. Petitions moved from clipboards to Facebook. She describes what she sees as an imbalance. Victims face strict deadlines and rules for their statements, while the offender can waive a hearing 15 days before it is scheduled. She also walks through this year’s paper review, which meant the family could not attend in person. The parole board denied both day and full parole.
The conversation turns to possible reforms. They cover the five-year review cycle and the ability to reapply in between, judicial discretion at sentencing, concurrent versus consecutive sentences, and performance checkpoints. Tammy also calls for a way to bring victims directly into the lawmaking process. She closes with what she hopes future generations in West Kelowna will remember when they visit the pool named for the two families.



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There are children in the Okanagan sleeping without a bed of their own. Sleep in Heavenly Peace Kelowna is bringing together volunteers, donors and community partners to change that.
Dan sits down with Michelle Cooper and Shawn Kremer to talk about what drives people to serve their community, what they’ve learned from families facing hardship, and how something as basic as a bed can make an enormous difference in a child’s life.
Shawn shares how the unexpected loss of his mother led him to rethink what gives life meaning and ultimately discover volunteering. Michelle reflects on a lifetime of community service and why she believes many people genuinely want to help but simply need to know where they’re needed.
They also explain how Sleep in Heavenly Peace builds and delivers beds, the extraordinary volunteers behind the effort, and their hopes for expanding its reach across the Interior.
To volunteer, support, or apply for a bed, visit
https://shpbeds.ca/
and find the Kelowna chapter.
Finding Solutions with Dan Albas explores the people, ideas and practical solutions making a difference in our communities.


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Tom Kmiec is the Member of Parliament for Calgary- Shepard and serves as Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. He arrived in Montreal as a four-year-old in 1985, after his father left Poland and the family waited two years to be reunited. He learned French and English by watching television, went to Polish school on Saturdays, and spent early mornings with his mom while she cleaned restaurant kitchens before opening.
In this episode of Finding Solutions, we talk about how that story shaped a career in public policy. Tom has worked as a policy advisor in Alberta and for federal ministers in Ottawa. He explains why humility matters when governments design programs, and why he returns to Hernando de Soto’s The Mystery of Capital and the idea of the “fatal conceit.” Rules written for good reasons can end up doing the opposite over time. Equalization is a good example.
We also go inside the work of the Deputy Speaker: welcoming foreign delegations, keeping the House running, and the massive rebuild of the Parliament buildings. Tom explains where the project stands, why Canadians should care about it, and how it will make the House more accessible to the public.
From there the conversation turns to Alberta. Tom lays out the history of separation talk, why he is a pro-Canada voice, and what his constituents say when they ask for a better deal from Ottawa. He explains equalization in plain language and makes the case for removing the cap. He also shares his view on why Canada is slow to approve and reimburse new cancer drugs, and why a cost-per-life-year formula is an incomplete measure. We close on a lighter note, with Tom’s Yiddish proverbs and why he uses them as his hook in the House.
In this conversation
* Leaving communist Poland and growing up in Quebec
* Learning English and French through television
* Moving to Alberta and why it felt like a “can-do” place
* Policy work in Alberta and Ottawa
* Humility in government and the “fatal conceit”
* Property rights and why clear ownership builds confidence
* The role of the Deputy Speaker
* Rebuilding Parliament: scope, cost and accountability
* Alberta, separation and a better deal inside Canada
* Equalization explained
* Access to new drugs for rare diseases
* Yiddish proverbs in the House of Commons
Finding Solutions is hosted by Dan Albas MP, Member of Parliament for Okanagan Lake West - South Kelowna.
Weekly reports and constituency information:
https://danalbasmp.ca
24/7 toll-free: 1-800-665-8711



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danalbas.substack.com

Finding Solutions with Dan Albas MP, Member of Parliament for Okanagan Lake West - South Kelowna.
Jeff Kibble, MP for Cowichan, Malahat, Langford and a 28-year Royal Canadian Navy veteran, joins Dan to talk defence procurement, Canadian Armed Forces readiness, and Bill C-235, legislation aimed at reducing repeated trauma for families of victims of the most heinous crimes.
Guest bio
Jeff Kibble, MP for Cowichan, Malahat, Langford (B.C.). Elected 2025 after 28 years in the Royal Canadian Navy (overseas deployments; commanded HMCS Oriole). Standing Committee on National Defence; Conservative Shadow Minister for Defence Procurement. Sponsor of Bill C-235, Respecting Families of Murdered and Brutalized Persons Act.
* https://jeffkibble.ca/
* https://x.com/JeffKibbleCML
* Bill: https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/45-1/c-235



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Guest Info:
Kathy Bernard is the founder and president of the Save Your Skin Foundation, a national patient-led organization dedicated to skin cancer education, prevention, advocacy, and patient support. After receiving a metastatic malignant melanoma diagnosis in 2003 and navigating a complex healthcare journey, she built a national network to ensure no patient faces cancer alone.Website: saveyourskin.ca
Episode Notes:
When Kathy Bernard was diagnosed with metastatic malignant melanoma in 2003, she faced a reality familiar to far too many Canadians: a delayed diagnosis, limited public information, and a complex healthcare system with no clear roadmap for patients. After a year of treatments, she learned the cancer had spread to her lungs. Her path forward required leaving her home, family, and province to enter a clinical trial at Alberta’s Cross Cancer Institute.
That clinical trial saved her life. Driven by her experience navigating out-of-province care, financial burdens, and systemic hurdles, Kathy vowed that no Canadian facing skin cancer would ever have to go through it alone. In 2006, she founded the Save Your Skin Foundation, starting with a personal 1-800 phone line that has since grown into a national support system providing education, advocacy, clinician mentoring, and direct financial support for patients.
In this episode of Finding Solutions, Dan Albas sits down with Kathy to discuss the realities of patient self-advocacy, the “postal code lottery” in Canadian drug coverage and clinical trial access, healthcare equity in remote communities, and practical sun safety habits for everyone enjoying an active outdoor lifestyle in the Okanagan.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danalbas.substack.com