COLUMN: Calling the climate COPS
Other than a small number of people who’ve bought into fossil fuel industry propaganda or who simply haven’t examined the evidence, everyone knows we’re in a climate crisis. It’s why negotiators from every nation are meeting in Egypt in November for the 27th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (officially Conferences...
OP/ED: A sharp rise in cannabis poisonings of young children
By Daniel Myran, Public Health physician, and Yaron Finkelstein, Professor of Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Toxicology When Canada legalized non-medical cannabis four years ago, there was enormous uncertainty about how legalization could impact the health of Canadians. Since then, there has been increasing evidence...
Issues with legal services? Province plans improvements, seeks input from public
British Columbians are encouraged to share their thoughts on the Province’s plans to simplify the regulatory framework for legal professionals so more people can connect to the legal supports and advice they need. Currently, lawyers are regulated by the Legal Profession Act and notaries are regulated by the Notaries Act. ...
COLUMN: People suffer while climate disrupters profit
The lineage of our human species has survived for several million years thanks to a wondrous, interconnected evolution of factors resulting in air to breathe, water to drink and plants, fungi, animals and minerals for food, shelter, tools and clothing. For most of that time, our ancestors lived in relative harmony with the ...
Column: Do something -- it's an antidote for anxiety and despair
When people do things they shouldn’t, they often try to distract attention from their actions. Guardian writer George Monbiot notes that many corporations fuelling the planet’s destruction spend significant resources to shift attention away from themselves and onto us. “The deliberate effort to stop us seeing the bigger picture...
B.C. applies for decriminalization in next step to reduce toxic drug deaths
British Columbia has taken an important step forward to prevent drug poisoning deaths by applying to the federal government to remove criminal penalties for people who possess small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use. B.C. is the first province in Canada to seek an exemption from Health Canada under Section 56(1) of ...
Column: On the brink
Humanity seems to be teetering on the brink. On one hand, we know that rapidly shifting from coal, oil and gas to renewable energy, along with protecting and restoring carbon sinks like forests and wetlands, will go a long way to slowing the worsening impacts of climate disruption. We know that women’s rights, family planning...
Column: Negligently endangering our children
Most people try to keep their children and grandchildren safe and wouldn’t knowingly put them at risk. Maybe that’s why some ignore or deny the climate crisis. It’s easier than admitting that, by our actions, we’re condemning those we love to an increasingly uncertain future. A new UNICEF report and “Children’s Climate Risk...
Column: Profound legal implications of recent IPCC report
We recently wrote that the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report contained little we didn’t already know. It has profound legal implications, though — which could offer hope to youth climate litigants, marginalized communities suffering disproportionately from impacts and even island nations threatened...
BC to have stat holiday honouring residential school victims
Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, and Selina Robinson, Minister of Finance, have released the following statement on marking the federal Truth and Reconciliation Day: “Over the last two months Canadians have been coming to terms with what survivors of residential schools have always known. ...