One of my infantile leftist ex-friends recently referred to the Free Syrian Army as a ‘sectarian gang’. The phrase may well come from Asa’ad Abu Khalil, who seems to have a depressingly large audience, but it could come from any of a large number of blanket thinkers in the ranks of the Western left. I admit that I sometimes...

A new provincial regulation aimed at stopping copper thieves in their tracks has scrap metal dealers doubtful. The new law came into effect yesterday, Monday, July 23, requiring the more than 60 BC scrap metal dealers to ask for and record the identification of anyone selling high-value metals like copper to them. That...

As Canada prepares to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014, it is time to reflect on the future role of our military in the world. Our active involvement in Afghanistan transformed Canada into a “nation at war”. The tragic loss of 158 Canadian men and women to this war along with the enormous price tag of […]

Human waste, unattended fires and toxic litter often accompanies seasonal squatters in the Boundary. It happens every year -- people who are down on their luck set up house along a river bank or in the bush to save themselves rent and utility costs while the weather is good. Their activity may seem harmless enough but it is...

The "Rossland Energy Diet," a unique energy-saving program that brought notable local rewards and has started to draw provincial and national attention, has celebrated great success in “phase one" and will now move into "phase two."A crowd gathered under a large tent beside the Rossland Mountain Market on July 12 to hear the...

A gay couple from Vancouver was awarded over $4500 for discrimination in a  B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision yesterday after being refused Grand Forks accommodations in 2009. The decision, by Tribunal member Enid Marion, found that Les and Susan Molnar, operating the Riverbend Bed and Breakfast business at the time, were...

I am currently facing a challenge in my own mind, as I confront a question with my granddaughter. Why does it seem important to teach children about the reality or falsity of elves, fairies, nature elementals , and other spirit beings? What should I say when she says “Are they real?” She also tells me […]

Some 491 Rossland residents—approximately one-fifth of the voting public—cast ballots in a plebiscite in June that asked if they were in favour of municipal financial contributions to the Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre (TALC), and whether they actually planned to use TALC. Council had varying opinions on how to interpret ...

The Rossland Skatepark Association (RSA) unveiled their skatepark design to an enthusiastic audience at a public meeting on Monday. Now the RSA has given the go-ahead to design consultant Spectrum Skateparks to make final modifications to the plan and assemble a cost estimate in preparation for the next big push: fundraising....

(Canmore, AB) At a time when National and Provincial Parks increasingly are under threat, a new study released today by the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) sets out a path to protect one of Canada’s great success stories – B.C.’s Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. Roughly the size of Ireland, the Muskwa-Kechika...