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 ...
Column: From the Hill -- the Bus Service Problem
Greyhound’s announcement that it will be pulling all its routes out of western Canada at the end of October came as a surprise, and for many it was more serious news. It left them wondering how they were going to travel to work sites, to visit relatives and friends, or to go to university in the fall. For them, the bus isn’t...
Editorial: Our Choice of Voting Systems -- Part Seven: Extremism?
Why people defend FPTP and oppose Proportional Representation: There have been some frightening statements made about proportional representation, by a few people. Why do they want to keep using First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)? What are their reasons for opposing all of the three Pro-rep systems being offered in this fall’s...
Red, CBT and 'Nowhere Special' -- the hostel.
After a season of serious excitement, RED Mountain Resort, in partnership with Columbia Basin Trust, has yet another exciting announcement: It’s called Nowhere Special. And it’s a hostel. Wait. A what? “The modern hostel movement has established itself as the “go to” place for the younger generations and is dramatically...
Prime Minister's Youth Advisory Group members ask Trudeau to cancel Kinder Morgan expansion buyout
Unprecedented move by young Canadians to challenge the Prime Minister with the support of members of his own Youth Council. July 16, Ottawa — 16 past and present Prime Minister’s Youth Council (PMYC) members are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cancel the Kinder Morgan buyout . Today, young Canadian individuals...
Opinion: Is it ever right for political leaders to defy court orders?
Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Ian Binnie said, “I think the recent popularity amongst political leaders denouncing judicial outcomes is extremely dangerous.” He was referring to the fact that Green Party Member of Parliament (and party leader) Elizabeth May and NDP Member of Parliament Kennedy Stewart defied a court...
COLUMN: AstroTurfing -- fake grassroots campaigns should be uprooted
AstroTurf looks and feels like grass — in an all-too-perfect way. But it’s not grass. Now the well-known artificial turf’s brand name has taken on a new meaning, referring to purported “grassroots” efforts that are actually funded and supported by industry and political entities. Some people, organizations and campaigns around...
Rossland's Museum and the community -- the next phase
A new feature is in the works to replace the old mine tunnel tour at the Rossland Museum and Discovery Centre. Fundraising has begun with a major donation. Teck, the company that forms the basis of much of the economic life in our area, has donated a large portion of the amount needed to build Phase II of the Rossland Museum’s...
