How should we vote?  How should the people of Canada be represented in our federal government? How should members of Parliament be elected?  On September 1st at the Fireside Inn in Castlegar, a  number of citizens interested in these simple yet profound  questions met with our local MP, Richard Cannings, to talk about electoral...

Many Rosslanders recall the unfortunate separation of a devoted senior couple so that they could more conveniently (for IHA) be housed in different facilities, in different towns.  While separated, one of the couple died.  The resulting, and well-justified, outcry may have resulted in changes to the practice of deciding which...

Do you roll your eyes at the word "sustainability" and scoff at concerns about food security? Well, how much of the world's news have you been reading -- or do you stick to celebrity gossip and animal photos so as not to become too depressed about bombings, weird extreme weather and famine in distant places, or about political...

On February 18th of this year a group of First Nations activists came to Ottawa to speak to the government about the Site C dam project on the Peace River.  They met with myself and other MPs in the BC NDP caucus to discuss their attempts to delay construction of the dam until the concerns of their people were heard in federal...

A reader recently commented privately about the recent "Rape and Consequences" article, and expressed dismay that Canada's "rape shield" legislation is not  more effective at curbing  defence attorneys' strategy of "whacking the victim" in court.  Her comment made me think:  our society's acceptance of "rape culture" is...

"Night at the Museum" on August 10, from 7:30 to 8:30 pm, will feature Dr. Gavin Hanke of the Royal Museum of BC, and the opportunity to speak with him informally.  He will have with him some exhibits -- and a vast store of knowledge on vertebrates:  that's all the creatures with backbones, though he doesn't include humans ...

(Editor's Note:  Southern BC is also home to most of the world's at-risk population of Mountain Caribou, and the comments in the column below about the need for undisturbed habitat apply equally.  For a BC government document on the Mountain Caribou's need for "large tracts of old-growth forest in the Interior Wet Belt," ...

The Rossland Telegraph   Things are beginning to look up for rape victims.  Recently, a judgment by Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Juliana Topolniski reversed an acquittal of a teen charged with sexual assault.  The language in her ruling made it very clear that she was disappointed, to say the least, with the lower...

The following article was originally posted on the Worldwatch Institute blog. Worldwatch is an independent research organization based in Washington, D.C. that works on energy, resource, and environmental issues. Ask environmental leaders where voluntary family planning fits into their organizations’ missions and goals,...

Another bear story: I heard a noise in the night, outside, at a former residence.  Looking out the back door with a flashlight, I saw a disappointed-looking black bear gazing back at me over one shoulder, a bag of flour in her mouth, and a thick trail of flour leading from our neighbour's back porch to the bear.  The neighbour...