Editorial: The Cassandra curse continues
Remember Cassandra, from ancient Greek mythology? The story is that the god Apollo fell in love with Cassandra, but she did not return his passion. Attempting to win her love, Apollo gifted her with true knowledge of the future, with truth-telling – but despite that amazing gift, she still didn’t return his love. Angry and...
Column: Reflections from an elder in isolation
I’m fortunate. This slowdown is giving me time with my grandchildren who are with me, and to think about what has mattered most in my life, what has given me the greatest joy and satisfaction, and where I hope the world may go after I’m gone. As an older male, I’m in the population facing the highest risk from COVID-19, but...
Local pro climbers raise awareness of racism and violence
Bouldering, a popular form of rock climbing, is trending in the West Kootenays like never before, partly thanks to the release of the area’s first Bouldering Guidebook. Rossland-born and raised filmmaker Liam Barnes films Nelson rock climbers Tosh and Tula Sherkat as they navigate the area’s biggest and most difficult climbs,...
Column: From the Hill -- Wealth gap a drag on the economy
Imagine a country where the top one percent of the population owned one quarter of all the wealth and the bottom 40 per cent together owned only one per cent. Sounds outrageous? That country is Canada. The source of those figures is the latest report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The disparity between the super-wealthy...
Editorial: Time to go back to reusable bags, please – with precautions
On June 22, 2020, over 100 health experts from around the world issued a statement about the relative safety of reusables compared with single-use plastics, cups, and so on, with regard to transmitting COVID-19. Their statement can be found here; in it, they state, “Based on the best available science and guidance from public...
Column: From the Hill -- Racism
The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police has focussed the world on the blight of racism. In the days and weeks since that event, millions have marched through the streets and there has been much said and written about racism, whether it be conversations around systemic racism or articles about the use of...
BC mine proposed in critical caribou habitat shows how endangered species ‘fall through the cracks’
If the newly proposed Sukunka coal mine follows the same trajectory as nearly every project reviewed under the province’s environmental assessment process, it will be approved even if it is found to have harmful effects on caribou By Jimmy Thomson for The Narwhal B.C. is considering a proposal for a new coal mine, planned...
Minister’s statement on Police Act reform
Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, has released the following statement in response to calls for British Columbia’s Police Act reform: “Everyone deserves to be treated fairly by the police, and our government acknowledges that for many Black, Indigenous and other people of colour, that hasn’t...
Opinion: Policy Options for Defunding the Police & Creating Alternative Services of Safety and Support
(Editor’s Note: There are different interpretations of the call to “defund the police.” Few people mean, “do away with all police” – but some do. Our local RCMP detachment suffers already from lack of personnel, and appears to take a humane and preventative approach, to the best of my knowledge. This opinion piece includes...
Editorial: Racists “Я” us.
Racism. It’s a hot topic because the examples of racist brutality against Black and Indigenous people have become undeniable – many are proven by on-the-spot videos. Hordes of citizens in both the USA and Canada are protesting systemic racist police brutality and murder, many are rioting, and many riots are accompanied by...
