New Emergency Alert System for RDKB Residents
Floods? Wildfires? Residents can register for emergency alerts about these, or other imminent threats, delivered by smartphone app, email and voice or text to a landline or cell number. The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary has launched a new emergency alerting system powered by Voyent Alert! —a Canada-based notification...
COLUMN: Rapid Warming; What are we Doing About it?
Another week, another dramatic warning from scientists — met with shrugs all around. This time, a report commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada, “Canada's Changing Climate Report,” warned that this country is warming at roughly twice the global average rate, even more in the North and on the Prairies. Some of...
Seth Rogen's Castlegar/Trail cannabis connection
What does famous actor/comedian Seth Rogen have to do with Castlegar and Trail? Quite a bit, according to Dave Streloff, co-owner of The Higher Path cannabis stores in Castlegar and Trail. “He (Rogen) has developed his own strain of cannabis – he’s quite a connoisseur,” Streloff said. “He’s really specific about everything ...
Column -- From the Hill: Taxpayers and Abandoned Wells
The BC Oil and Gas Commission recently revealed some concerning figures about abandoned oil and gas wells in British Columbia. In one example, Ranch Energy recently declared bankruptcy, leaving up to 500 abandoned wells in care of the Commission. Much of the cost to clean up those sites will likely fall on the shoulders of […]
Column: Schlock and Odd in Ottawa; Part One
Political Sense and Nonsense I cannot help it: the Jody Wilson-Raybould / SNC-Lavalin political storm in Ottawa and in news media has fascinated me. Bewildered me at times, but in the main, it has kept me interested week by week. Politics can be a bore. Not this time, not for me, in this instance. Her resignation, followed ...
Column: Children are fighting for their future. We must support them
“And a little child shall lead them.” – Isaiah 11:6 At 16, Greta Thunberg may not be a little child, but she’s showing tremendous leadership. The Swedish student has galvanized a world movement, pressing adults to remove the blinkers of corporate and political self-interest and recognize that their refusal to respond appropriately...
Editorial Rant: RCMP Surveillance of Social Media -- to What End?
Recent articles in The Tyee discuss the revelation that the RCMP have been engaged in monitoring social media – characterized in the article as “ongoing wide-scale monitoring of individuals’ social media use [that] could pose a threat to Canadians’ privacy and charter rights, say experts.” But ...
Investigation: Petrowest numbered company awarded $10 million Site C dam contract on eve of bankruptcy
Petrowest’s financial woes were widely known when BC Hydro quietly awarded a major contract to a B.C. numbered company — 1054143 — that an investigation by The Narwhal reveals was incorporated by key Petrowest executives. The numbered company received millions in public funds while Petrowest fell into...
Column: From the Hill -- Canada needs Pharmacare
When Canadians are asked what makes them proud to be Canadians, many say that our health care system is a big part of that pride. We care about each other and want to make sure that everyone has access to health care when they are sick or injured. But our medicare system has some big gaps, and one of those is our access to...
Castlegar, Trail, Nelson, Rossland and the RDCK to participate in immigration pilot project
A handful of Kootenay communities will participate in BC’s brand new Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Entrepreneur Immigration Regional Pilot. Castlegar, Trail, Nelson, Rossland and RDCK Area J are among more than 30 BC communities to join the pilot, which aims to attract foreign entrepreneurs to establish businesses in rural...
