Editorial: Bill C-365 is a time-wasting distraction
Conservative Member of Parliament Mel Arnold wants to make theft of firefighting equipment, which theft causes "actual danger to life," a specific Criminal Code offense with a maximum penalty of imprisonment for life. That's the same maximum penalty as mischief causing actual danger to life. Anyone who was evacuated from...
COLUMN: The other reasons for rising ICBC rates -- what we weren't told
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia which was, only a decade ago, a financially sound crown corporation, is on the ropes today. What happened? The information ICBC offers on its “Rate Pressures” web page speaks of “significant external pressures on ICBC’s insurance rates”. From 2014 to 2016 the number of crashes...
COLUMN: Finance committee chair Wayne Easter defends the privileged, undermines modest tax reforms
What is it about progressive politicians going to Ottawa only to end up as arrogant and nasty conservatives? My old friend Pam Wallin was one of the kindest people I knew in Regina in the 1970s when she was a member of the Waffle group in the NDP. She turned into one of the nastiest Conservative senators. And the last encounter...
Kootenay, Boundary Credit Unions in merger talks
Credit union customers in the south-east interior might soon have access to more services and more convenient banking if a proposed merger goes ahead. Seven local credit unions in the Columbia Valley, Boundary and Kootenays are in talks to merge into one large regional banking institution. The credit unions announced on...
A Rossland business celebrates children being outdoors
Sending kids outside to play is one of the best things parents can do for them, right? Books have been written about the many benefits to children's health and development of playing outside in natural surroundings. Trees. Meadows. Creeks. Those books include "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv, "Risk and Adventure...
COLUMN: The trouble with CO2, plants and nutrition
Bigger isn’t always better. Too much of a good thing can be bad. Many anti-environmentalists throw these simple truths to the wind, along with caution. You can see it in the deceitful realm of climate change denial. It’s difficult to keep up with the constantly shifting — and debunked — denier arguments, but one common thread...
Editorial: About those proposed changes in federal income tax: Will they hurt small businesses? Will they hurt farmers?
The short answer, according to a number of reviews done by experts in economics, is ― no. The vast majority of small businesses do not make enough money to be affected at all by the proposed changes in federal taxation. Farmers should not suffer either. In fact, according to the conclusions of those ...
Consumers warned about flood-damaged vehicles filtering into Canada
The Better Business Bureau of BC is warning the public that there may be a few more used cars on the market thanks to a horrific hurricane season in Caribbean and South East United States. Images of flooded highways and submerged vehicles in Texas paint a picture of insurance nightmares. The Better Business Bureau of BC said...
Innovators coming to Kootenays looking for solutions
They may be big companies looking for high-tech solutions to high-tech problems, but there’s still nothing that beats talking to people face-to-face. That’s why the BC Innovation Council is travelling the province with its BC Growth Opportunity Tour. The “showcase of challenges” arrives in Nelson on September 29 at the Best...
No more 'big money' in BC politics
The Government of British Columbia has introduced legislation to put an end to big money in politics and put people back at the heart of government decision-making. “We’re reforming campaign finance rules to make sure government’s actions and decisions benefit everyone, not just those with deep pockets,” said Premier John...
