Op/Ed: Buy BC First, says BC Premier
By John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia This B.C. Day long weekend, let's take time to enjoy food, friends and family. Let's also celebrate the farmers, producers, and local businesses who provide quality food and drink grown right here in B.C. B.C. farmers grow fresh, local food delivered to us at farmers’ markets, grocery...
The trouble with Bitcoin -- Blockchain and life on earth
We’ve all read about Bitcoin. Blockchain transactions such as those used by Bitcoin are touted for their security – the term “Blockchain” refers to a chain of “blocks” of data designed to be tamper-proof, partly because each block is identified by a “hash” which is like a digital fingerprint; it’s unique, and if anything...
Editorial: Who opposes proportional representation, and why?
There’s an old saying: follow the money. In the case of the upcoming referendum on whether or not BC should change our voting system from First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) to a form of Proportional Representation (ProRep), those most vocally opposed to a change seem to have one thing in common: they are people who think they would...
Seniors Advocate Report: Better Patient Outcomes, Savings Possible
The Seniors Advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, has issued a report on some of the different patient outcomes between private-contractor care facilities for seniors, and facilities operated by a Health Authority. The findings are compelling. The report explains that there are 293 publicly subsidized care facilities in BC, and that...
Opinion: Reconciling Energy and Indigenous Rights
In 2007, Canada was one of four countries to vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (with New Zealand, the United States and Australia). With its single-minded focus on making Canada an “energy superpower,” albeit only with fossil fuels, the Harper government feared the declaration’s concept of ...
Column: From the Hill -- Columbia River Treaty issues
Last week I spent three days in Spokane at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region meetings. Over 600 legislators, business people, and other interested folks from BC, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon and Northwest Territories gathered to talk about issues important to this region....
Teck Announces Closing of Waneta Dam Sale
Teck Resources Limited (“Teck”), (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) today announced the closing of the sale of its two-thirds interest in the Waneta Dam in British Columbia, Canada, to BC Hydro for $1.2 billion cash. ...
COLUMN: the Future Isn't in Plastics
People in Canada discard about 57 million plastic drinking straws every day. In my hometown of Vancouver, we toss out 2.6 million disposable cups every week. It’s a global problem. Plastic products are choking landfills and waterways and causing devastation in the oceans. In 2014, scientists even found a new kind of stone in...
Commercial Huckleberry Harvesting Restrictions
The provincial government is restricting commercial-scale huckleberry harvesting to protect grizzly bear habitat, including several locales in the East Kootenay. From July 15 to Oct. 15, commercial-scale picking of huckleberries is prohibited in some areas of the Kootenay Boundary region, including Little Moyie and Kid Creek...
Editorial: Our Choice of Voting Systems -- Part Eight.
There are large, loud and expensive ads urging people to vote against Proportional Representation in this fall’s referendum. Are the points made in those ads valid? As citizens, or even just as residents, we should all care deeply about how well our government serves the public interest. We need to get it ...