Column: From the Hill -- Bill C-14 and Access to Medically Assisted Dying
By Member Of Pariliament for South Okanagan- West Kootenay, Richard Cannings: Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying) In March I wrote in this column about the ongoing debates in Parliament around medical aid in dying, brought on by the Supreme...
The Strange Case of DFO Abdicating Its Legal Responsibilities
Many of us eat salmon and other fish here in Rossland too, far from the sea -- whether it's fresh fish bought at Ferraro Foods, or canned. For that reason and many others, we should be concerned about the health of BC's fish populations. Strangely, the federal government's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), charged...
COLUMN: Feeding Humanity in a Warming World
Calculating farming’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is difficult, but experts agree that feeding the world’s people has tremendous climate and environmental impacts. Estimates of global emissions from farms range widely. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts them at 24 per cent, including deforestation,...
A New Truck with Rossland Carshare
News Flash! Rosslanders who join Rossland Carshare now have access to a pick-up truck as well as a car. The 2000 Ford Ranger is a new addition, and is here on a trial basis, to assess demand. Hint: joining Carshare will be much less expensive than buying, insuring, and maintaining a pick-up truck of your very own for...
City issues reminder about Burning Bylaw
People burn stuff illegally. Smoke billows up and drifts around the nieghbourhood, and other people complain-- especially people with asthma and other respiratory conditions. Smoke isn't good for anyone, but some of us suffer more immediate ill effects than most. Earlier this spring, a number of illegal fires were burning...
COLUMN: Catastrophe Punctuates the Human Story
Disaster in “Canada’s most divisive city” When I label Fort McMurray our ‘most divisive city’ I am stealing the phrase of a Globe and Mail journalist. It is an apt label. Fort Mac and what it symbolizes – the fossil-fuel industry and resource capitalism – does indeed divide us into camps according to our political response ...
COLUMN: Eating Less Meat Will Reduce the Earth's Heat
Will vegans save the world? Reading comments under climate change articles or watching the film Cowspiracy make it seem they’re the only ones who can. Cowspiracy boldly claims veganism is “the only way to sustainably and ethically live on this planet.” But, as with most issues, it’s complicated. It’s true, though, that the ...
OPINION: Electoral Reform Committee makes a mockery of Law Commission Recommendations
How We Vote Reforming the system by which we elect members to the House of Commons was an issue for at least one political party in the last federal election, but it is not a new topic. Arguably the most extensive study undertaken on the subject was the 2004 Law Commission Canada report: Voting Counts: Electoral Reform for ...
BC and Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines on Hook to Pay $230,000 in Court Costs to Coastal First Nations and Gitga’at First Nation
Vancouver, May 10, 2016) – The Supreme Court of BC has ruled the Province of BC and Northern Gateway must pay $230,000 in court costs to the Coastal First Nations (CFN) and Gitga’at First Nation. “We are very pleased with the decision,” said CFN Chair Kelly Russ. “The decision is a victory for the tireless work of our leaders...
COLUMN: Ain’t nothing like the real thing — but virtual reality comes close
By David Suzuki The digital revolution is breaking new ground every day. Technology has a way of doing that. I remember when Hewlett-Packard introduced its first “laptop” computer, which stored a page and a half of writing. It revolutionized my life as a newspaper columnist, allowing me to write on planes or in a tent and...
