Nonpartisan Hacks

Joel Grenz and Sean Wood

Hosted by two Parksville city councillors, Nonpartisan Hacks brings you behind the scenes of how government really works — without the spin, the shouting, or the partisanship. We dive into the practical, the absurd, and the oddly inspiring world of local government, while mixing in the occasional provincial and federal twist. Expect real talk about decision-making, budgets, bylaws, and political hot potatoes (with a helping of humour and honesty).

  1. 18 hrs ago

    Chair and Chief Councillor John Jack

    Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with John Jack, known in his own language as Sayaač̓atḥ, who runs two governments at once: he's Chief Councillor of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, a modern treaty nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and the elected Chair of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. Jack walks through what it actually took to design Huu-ay-aht's constitution from the ground up: a legislative and executive branch fused into one council, a hereditary leadership body that functions like a "sober second thought" Senate, and a tribunal that acts as both administrative appeal body and Supreme Court. He and the hosts dig into why he'd rather build relationships at the table than rely on the courts, what BC's treaty landscape gets that the rest of Canada doesn't, and why he thinks consensus-based decision-making quietly fails on the hardest calls. Listen in for: How Huu-ay-aht built a three-branch constitution — including a hereditary body that acts like a Senate Why the Huu-ay-aht Tribunal doubles as both an appeals body and a Supreme Court What makes BC's treaty landscape different from the rest of Canada, from the Royal Proclamation to Section 35 Why Jack sees courtroom battles as the "adversarial" alternative nobody actually wins What "the goal is boring" means for good governance — and why it rarely is, especially early on Where consensus-based decision-making quietly breaks down, using BC's forestry sector as the example 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform. Find all our episodes at nonpartisanhacks.com and drop us a line. 🎵 Theme music: "Cruising" by Sky Gienger via Uppbeat | License: JNRTTK70QSW4XR8V

    Chair and Chief Councillor John Jack

  2. Aug 3

    On the Rails with Thomas Bevan of Island Corridor Foundation

    What does it actually take to bring 289 kilometres of century-old railway back to life? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood take the show on the road — or rather, the rails — recording aboard a high rail vehicle rolling from Parksville to Coombs with returning guest Thomas Bevan, CEO of the Island Corridor Foundation. Bevan walks Joel and Sean through the history of the old rail corridor, from its origins as a resource-extraction line built on a 19th-century land grant, through decades of decline, to the Foundation’s current work managing wildfire risk, negotiating trail agreements, and finding revenue that keeps 289 kilometres of land productive without waiting on government to decide the corridor’s fate. Listen in for: Why the Island Corridor Foundation’s strategy is "one mile at a time" instead of holding out for a bullet train How the Cameron Lake Fire changed the Foundation’s approach to vegetation management Why rails and trails aren’t an either/or on Vancouver Island The economics of managing a 100-foot-wide, 289-kilometre non-profit land base What’s next for Coombs, Ladysmith, and the Colwood Crawl corridor in Greater Victoria What it’s actually like to record a podcast from a moving high rail vehicle 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform. Find all our episodes at nonpartisanhacks.com and drop us a line. 🎵 Theme music: "Cruising" by Sky Gienger via Uppbeat | License: JNRTTK70QSW4XR8V

    On the Rails with Thomas Bevan of Island Corridor Foundation

  3. Jul 25

    Scared to Live, Not Scared to Die: Shayla Day on Addiction and Recovery

    Shayla Day was homeless from age 11 to 21, addicted to narcotics by 16, and overdosed 44 times. Today she's helping to lead a regional response to homelessness. In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Shayla Day, founder and CEO of Day Homes Society, a nonprofit serving the Oceanside region with outreach, food support, housing navigation, and community coordination. Day also chairs the Oceanside Homeless Task Force and co-chairs the Oceanside Community Action Team. Day walks Joel and Sean through how she went from the street to running frontline social services, what "Housing First" actually means (it's not what most people assume), and how a coordinated regional network of shelters operates across Vancouver Island. Listen in for: How Shayla went from living on the street to helping run Oceanside's homelessness response Why "Housing First" doesn't mean what most people think it means How SROs, detox, and treatment centres fit into a proper continuum of care What a CAR 87 program is How a region-wide network of shelters trades and tracks clients so people don't fall through the cracks Why accountability, not just compassion, determines whether social services actually work 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform.

    Scared to Live, Not Scared to Die: Shayla Day on Addiction and Recovery

  4. Jul 10

    Decoding Your Property Tax Bill

    Your city council raised taxes 5.8% this year. So why did your bill go up 13%? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood pull apart the property tax bill that lands in every homeowner's mailbox each spring, and explain why it's really six or seven different bills stapled into one. Recorded on Sean's deck in Parksville, BC, the two councillors walk through who actually sets each line, why your assessment doesn't move your taxes the way you'd think, and what, if anything, you can do about the total. They also get into the mechanics that rarely make the news: how the regional hospital district and library board raise your taxes without a single headline, why the province's homeowner grant has quietly lost value for decades, and what changed this year in BC's property tax deferral program. Listen in for: Why your property tax bill is really a bundle of separate invoices from separate governments How the assessment-versus-rate math actually works (and why a bigger assessment isn't always bad news) The real story behind Parksville's 5.8% increase versus a resident's 13% bill Why BC's homeowner grant has been quietly losing value since the 1950s What changed in BC's property tax deferral program this year What you can actually do if you think your taxes are too high 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform. Find all our episodes at nonpartisanhacks.com and drop us a line. 🎵 Theme music: "Cruising" by Sky Gienger via Uppbeat | License: JNRTTK70QSW4XR8V

  5. Jun 13

    Municipal Courage with Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto

    What happens when the province doesn't move fast enough and people in your city can't wait? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Alto, Mayor of the City of Victoria, recorded live at the AVICC convention. Victoria isn't just BC's capital city, it's a mid-sized municipality shouldering an outsized share of the region's housing pressures, homelessness, and mental health and addiction challenges, all while the provincial legislature sits in its front yard. 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, adaptability, and why standing in a room full of people yelling at you is sometimes just part of the job. Listen in for: How Victoria exceeded its provincial housing targets — and why Mayor Alto was "jumping up and down" 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 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform. Find all our episodes at nonpartisanhacks.com and drop us a line. 🎵 Theme music: "Cruising" by Sky Gienger via Uppbeat | License: JNRTTK70QSW4XR8V

    Municipal Courage with Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto

  6. May 29

    When Democracy Becomes Dangerous with Marianne Meed Ward

    What happens when serving your community means risking your personal safety? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, recorded live at the AVICC convention in Victoria, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Marianne Meed Ward — Mayor of Burlington, Ontario and co-founder of Elect Respect — to talk about the growing crisis of harassment, abuse, and outright 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 a colleague leave elected life entirely because of the abuse. Rather than stepping back, she helped launch a national movement. Elect Respect is now a cross-country campaign with hundreds of elected officials and over 60 municipalities signed on. The pledge is simple: commit to respectful democracy, lead by example, and ask the same of colleagues and constituents. Listen in 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 (and easily weaponized) How social media, bots, and post-COVID anonymity turbocharged political toxicity at the local level What Elect Respect 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 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform. Find all our episodes at nonpartisanhacks.com and drop us a line. Sign the pledge: electrespect.ca 🎵 Theme music: "Cruising" by Sky Gienger via Uppbeat | License: JNRTTK70QSW4XR8V

    When Democracy Becomes Dangerous with Marianne Meed Ward

  7. May 1

    Bring the Bill: Rob Shaw on First Reading, DRIPA, and the Erosion of Debate

    What happens when a government starts blocking bills before anyone gets to read them? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood welcome back BC political reporter Rob Shaw — host of Political Capital and co-author of the bestselling A Matter of Confidence — for the "Criterion Edition" of his rant on first reading at the BC Legislature. They unpack what first reading actually does, why the NDP government's growing habit of blocking opposition bills (including a recent Trevor Halford bill on DRIPA) chips away at the institution, and how the same procedural dynamics show up around the municipal council table. From DRIPA to slates to the quiet collapse of caucus power, the conversation is part civics lesson, part warning shot, and very much in the Nonpartisan Hacks spirit of "the process matters as much as the outcome." Listen in for: What first reading actually is — and why blocking it is more serious than it sounds Why the precedents this government sets will eventually be used against them The municipal parallel: why "second for discussion" is a small but vital democratic norm How outrage clips and Facebook groups are turning every procedural vote into a wedge Why slates are the corrosive factor creeping into otherwise healthy local democracies Rob's reliable forecast: every premier eventually falls — usually to someone you've never heard of 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform. Find all our episodes at nonpartisanhacks.com and drop us a line. 🎵 Theme music: "Cruising" by Sky Gienger via Uppbeat | License: JNRTTK70QSW4XR8V

    Bring the Bill: Rob Shaw on First Reading, DRIPA, and the Erosion of Debate

  8. Apr 11

    So You’re Thinking of Voting in an Election

    Nobody teaches you how to vote well. Maybe they should. You already know how to mark an X on a ballot. But do you know what you're actually voting for? Joel Grenz and Sean Wood — two City of Parksville councillors — break down the overlooked civics of actually choosing who to vote for. From how party slates and vetting work, to why big campaign promises are often a red flag, to the real reason politicians get accused of lying (hint: voters play a role), this is the honest conversation about democratic participation that doesn't happen often enough. Prompted in part by the current BC Conservative leadership race, and with a municipal election on the horizon, this episode is the flip side of a previous discussion, So You’re Thinking of Running for Local Government. Listen in for: Why 99% of local government across Canada is nonpartisan, and why that matters The real role of party vetting, and what happens when it goes sideways Why voting for promises might actually incentivise politicians to lie What to look for instead: character, résumé, trust, and your gut Why voter apathy costs everyone but why an imperfect vote still beats no vote Sean's challenge to every armchair critic with opinions but no nomination papers 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform. Find all our episodes at nonpartisanhacks.com and drop us a line.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Hosted by two Parksville city councillors, Nonpartisan Hacks brings you behind the scenes of how government really works — without the spin, the shouting, or the partisanship. We dive into the practical, the absurd, and the oddly inspiring world of local government, while mixing in the occasional provincial and federal twist. Expect real talk about decision-making, budgets, bylaws, and political hot potatoes (with a helping of humour and honesty).

Information

  • Creator
    Joel Grenz and Sean Wood
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025-2026 Nonpartisan Hacks
  • Show Website
    Nonpartisan Hacks

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