In the last dozen years, eight out of nine commissions or citizen assemblies created by governments in Canada have not only advocated getting rid of our first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system but have recommended adopting MMP, or mixed-member-proportional representation. In the upcoming 2015 federal election, Tom Mulcair...

Alex Atamanenko, MP says he is disappointed but not surprised by the Conservative Government’s continuing tax breaks for big corporations and Canada’s wealthiest few.  “This budget has nothing that will assist the middle class who are the driving force of our economy, nor does it assist those falling below the poverty line,”...

Local elections across B.C. were supposed to be buried and done with last November, but some of the fallout from a few races is still coming home to roost and there are a few lessons to learn from it. The top ones? Local elections are a perilous time to be a chief administrative officer (CAO), the passing the buck saga continues...

By David Suzuki Beijing’s 21-million residents live in a toxic fog of particulate matter, ozone, sulphur dioxide, mercury, cadmium, lead and other contaminants, mainly caused by factories and coal burning. Schools and workplaces regularly shut down when pollution exceeds hazardous levels. People have exchanged paper and cotton...

Arc of the Cognizant LXXXX The Grand Synthesis, or the Complete Theory of Everything Real When pressed to say what gives you your proofs for what is real and how the universe can be understood, what do you say?  “Science” is a good bet for your probable reply.  A thousand years ago in our civilization it was a safe bet one ...

Dear Editor, I would like to urge all citizens of Canada and our local MP Alex Atamanenko,  to speak out against Bill C-51. The government’s secret police Bill C-51 is reckless, dangerous, and ineffective: reckless for turning CSIS into a ‘secret police’ force with little oversight or accountability; dangerous for opening the...

Children sing that “when you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are.” By adulthood, most of us have given up on that idea and a few – just to hedge their bets – donate to political parties rather than testing their luck on a star. And that's what makes the annual financial reports from B.C.'s political parties...

It is with mixed feelings of gratitude and sorrow that we extend a heart-felt thank you to the brave individuals who responded to our house fire in Paterson on the evening of Tuesday, April 7, 2015.  Thank you for saving our outbuildings and the forest surrounding our home.  Our horses are also grateful to you all for saving...

by murray dobbin A news story this week blandly described the perverse reality that is the current state of the Canadian economy. The headline read "Corporate profit margins at 27-year high and likely to stay there." Pretty heady stuff if you took it out of context. But the context is everything: pathetic growth...

By David Suzuki Cars, air travel, space exploration, television, nuclear power, high-speed computers, telephones, organ transplants, prosthetic body parts… At various times these were all deemed impossible. I’ve been around long enough to have witnessed many technological feats that were once unimaginable. Even 10 or 20 years...