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...
Letters: Discarded bags of dog poop proliferating near trails
We have been increasingly distressed by the many, many bags of dog feces neatly bagged and thrown on the mining school road and on out the trails and presumably all over Rossland. The bears are hungry now and dog feces are rich in nutrients, and ugly as this photo is, people need to know that they are threatening the ...
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...
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...
Spraying native plants on City property with herbicide; Rossland IS expensive; street light schedule adjustment; arena suggestions
Regular Council Meeting, September 18, 2017 Present: Acting Mayor Lloyd McLellan, and Councillors John Greene, Marten Kruysse, Aaron Cosbey, Andrew Zwicker; Absent: Mayor Kathy Moore, Andy Morel Public Input Period: The owner of Seven Summits Coffee, who purchased and has been extensively renovating the former Rotary...
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 ...
Column: Can we have economic growth and lower emissions?
What does climate change have to do with economic growth? Canada’s prime minister and premiers signed a deal in December to “grow our economy, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and build resilience to the impacts of a changing climate.” The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change...
Column: From the Hill -- Business Tax Controversy
There has been a great deal of talk in the news and on the street about the Liberal government’s proposed changes to federal tax laws that would make it more difficult for small businesses to make passive investments in their companies and share profits with members of their families. The Liberals claim that many small...
Editorial: Treachery or a higher duty?
On Friday, September 8, Dr. Darryl Plecas, then a Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly, agreed to serve in the Legislature as Speaker. His party promptly disowned him ― first, kicked him out of the Liberal caucus, then on Saturday, September 9, the Liberal Party executive voted to strip him of membership in the Liberal...
