On February 3, a 150-car train carrying toxic chemicals derailed near East Palestine, Ohio. Close to half the town’s 4,700 residents had to evacuate as deadly gas and smoke fouled the air and chemicals contaminated waterways. Fortunately, no people were killed (although at least 3,500 fish perished), unlike in the devastating...

Dear Neighbours, Friends and Community Members, My colleagues and I have heard from constituents, community members, and Indigenous people across B.C. on how best to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, honouring residential school survivors and those who never returned home. To those of you who reached ...

In many countries — most notably the U.S. — corporations are considered “persons” under law, enjoying many of the same legal rights and responsibilities as “natural” persons. Judging by the way some corporations operate, you might conclude they’re not very good people. Defining corporations as “persons” simply means they have...

Dear Editor, With Alzheimer’s Awareness month coming to a close, the Alzheimer Society of B.C. wants to say a big thank you to the people of the West Kootenay for joining forces with us to raise awareness and flipping the script on stigma associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s...

By now, anyone paying attention knows that burning coal, oil and gas has created a crisis that threatens our survival. The scientific evidence — in fields including physics, geography, oceanography, meteorology, chemistry, biology and more — is indisputable. All major scientific institutions and national governments confirm...

NOTE:  UPDATED -- Appendices added. Part Four Time for a quick recapitulation of what I’ve been attempting to lay out in the previous three parts of this Arc. Part One opened to readers the vista I see of our world hanging upon a threshold, with particular attention to the notion that liberal democracy today is under threats,...

Dear Neighbours, Friends and Community Members, We know people in B.C. are worried about finding housing they can afford: from students and young adults moving away from home, to families looking to find more space, to seniors thinking about downsizing, and everyone in between. That’s why we’re working to protect the affordable...

Despite Canada’s important commitments at the December UN COP15 in Montreal, we’re not halting, let alone reversing, biodiversity loss. More than 5,000 wild species face some risk of extinction, according to the recently released report “The Wild Species 2020: The General Status of Species in Canada.”...

Part Three Parts One and Two are prerequisite for understanding what I am writing about. This Part is the longest of the four sections, and is about politics specifically. Liberalism and libertas in the Canadian mode Let me return to the topic of liberal democracy in its twilight. To pretend that liberalism and liberal democracy...

Dear Neighbours, Friends and Community Members, As we welcome the new year, I hope you all enjoyed a happy and restful holiday, and your 2023 is off to a good start. As your BC government, we’re continuing to tackle the issues affecting British Columbians most. Alongside our new Premier, David Eby, we’re working hard on issues...