This is VANCOLOUR

John Cullen is a Vancouver-based comedian (originally from Toronto). His comedy album, “Most Likely To Be a Comedian” topped iTunes charts and regularly plays on SiriusXM radio. He has appeared at the Just For Laughs comedy festival and the Halifax Comedy Festival. He is also a contributor to CBC’s The Debaters.His former podcast “Real Good Show” was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award and amassed over 300,000 downloads. His current podcast, “Blocked Party” with Stefan Heck, features some of Vancouver’s funniest comics and regularly hits the iTunes podcast charts.In addition to comedy, John is a competitive curler who has won five medals at the BC Men’s Provincials. He has a drummer whose bands Shukov and Hayfa Makes Music have toured Western Canada with the likes of Hey Ocean!, k-os, and Tokyo Police Club. He is also a substitute teacher.

Svend Robinson is arguably the single most influential Member of Parliament in Canadian history to have never served in the Cabinet of Cabinet.For 25 years, he represented Burnaby for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Canadian Parliament. He is notably the first MP to come out as gay. Throughout his career, he has been a trailblazer for social justice, including his stance on American foreign policy. He was a leader in the movement for the right to physician-assisted death. As a strong environmentalist he has engaged in civil disobedience to block the logging of old growth-forests in BC. He has also advocated for LGBTQ rights.After 13 years, he is retuning to politics and running as the NDP candidate (under Jagmeet Singh’s leadership) in the riding of Burnaby North-Seymour against Liberal MP Terry Beech.

Dr. Bruce Alexander is a world-renowned whose extensive, paradigm-shifting research on the psychology of addiction - particularly his “Rat Park” studies - at Simon Fraser University has influenced the likes of Johann Hari and Dr. Gabor Maté. His work has also received renewed interest in the wake of the current opioids crisis. In 2007, he received the Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy from SFU.

Dina Del Bucchia is a Canadian poet, podcaster, and performer. She hosts “Can’t Lit”, a podcast on Canadian literature and culture. She is also the senior editor of Poetry Is Dead magazine and the artistic director of the Real Vancouver Writers’ Series.Her fourth collection of poetry, “It’s a Big Deal!”, interrogates the ways in which we interpret and process the big deals of our twenty-first century lives.

Lynda Steele is an award-winning journalist and prominent media personality in Western Canada.She is the host of the “The Lynda Steele Show” on Global News Radio 980 CKNW.

Dr. Caitlin Dunne is a co-director at the Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine. She is doubly certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and in Gynecologic Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Western Ontario, completing her residency and subspecialty training at the University of British Columbia, where she is also a Clinical Assistant Professor.She’s published research on in-vitro fertilization, gynaecological surgery, and ovarian disease.She’s appeared on The Lynda Steele Show and Global News, in addition to being featured in Maclean’s Magazine.

Casey-Jo Loos is a radio host at 102.7 FM (The Peak - Vancouver’s Modern Rock). Earlier this year, she released her debut book “i see you. i am you.”, a collection of poetry, reflections, and meanderings now available at www.caseyjoloos.com.She is also an Ambassador at Float House, the first sensory deprivation tank centre in Vancouver.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West is one of the youngest mayors in Metro Vancouver’s history. First elected to Port Coquitlam City Council in 2008 when he was 23 years old, he was re-elected in 2011 and 2014. In 2018, he was elected Mayor with 88% of the popular vote.Keith Baldrey has said he will be a major political force.Jay Janower has called him the new sheriff in town.Both Lynda Steele and Sam Cooper agree: He has been kicking up a dust storm and calling out political leadership in this province and in this country.

OneCity Vancouver is a progressive municipal political party in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia founded in 2014. OneCity emerged out of a growing concern that Vancouver has become an increasingly unequal and divided city.Christine Boyle is a City Councillor in Vancouver City Council, representing OneCity Vancouver.Khelsilem is a Councillor and the Spokesperson for the Squamish Nation, one of the Lower Mainland’s most influential Indigenous communities. He also helped Simon Fraser University set up its Squamish Language Proficiency Certificate Program. He volunteers for OneCity Vancouver.

Michelle Morgan is a Canadian actress who stars in CBC’s Heartland, the longest running scripted drama in Canadian television history. She has also appeared in Stargate Atlantis, The L Word, The Good Doctor, and Supernatural.She is premiering her screenwriting and directorial debut, “Mi Madre, My Father”, at the Vancouver Short Film Festival on January 26. She also costars in the film alongside Stephen Amell (Arrow, New Girl), Lina Renna (Another Life, The Edge of Seventeen), and Robert Moloney (You Me Her, Power Rangers).She has also worked on STORYHIVE projects (Save Yourself, Chinook County Mysteries).