OP/ED: Interior Health year in review: Message from Board Chair Erwin Malzer
As I mark my first anniversary as Board Chair of Interior Health, I’m looking back on the highlights and challenges of 2015. From wildfires that blazed through much of our region, to major investments in surgical care, and a change in leadership within our organization, it has been quite a year. We saw the departure of Dr. ...
OPINIONS: Differing Views on the Paris Climate Agreement
On the positive side, in a spirit of optimism, we have this report from "Tree Alerts": "195 countries reached across traditional divides today to unite behind the greatest moral challenge of our time and seal the deal on a historic climate accord. The Paris Agreement is an inclusive, ambitious, science-based deal that...
COLUMN: Christmas Stress Test
Christmas Stress Test With the Holiday Season ahead of us I worry about my ability to survive it one more time. It will take almost a full month to recover from the excessive eating, the revitalizing visits, the frantic shopping and the compulsive decorating. The repetitive experience of Christmas stress makes...
COLUMN: I Think, And My MInd Sprouts New Stems
“Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle for where we’re going…” -- Neil Young, Candle in the Dark “We are stupid, fickle beings with feeble memories… But who knows? Maybe this time we will not forget what has happened, we will learn from it…”...
OPINION: ELECTORAL REFORM -- A Proposal
Editor's Note: Nick Loenen, the author of this proposal, served as an MLA in BC from 1987 to 1991, as a Social Credit member for the constituency of Richmond. He is now free of political affiliations, and enjoys sailing his beautiful Dragon-class sailboat as well as giving thought and expression to potential improvements...
OPINION: ELECTORAL REFORM -- A Response to Loenen's Proposal
Editor's Note: Andre Carrel, author of the following response to Nick Loenen's proposal on electoral reform, was born and raised in Switzerland. He immigrated to Canada in 1963 and holds dual citizenship. He is a retired municipal administrator, and has published a book on local governance: "Citizens’ Hall: Making ...
COLUMN: COP21: Hope for Humanity
by David Suzuki With world leaders now meeting in Paris for the UN Climate Change Conference, we’re seeing signs of hope for an agreement to limit the escalating effects of global warming. Canadians, especially, have reason to be optimistic about our country’s role. It hasn’t always been this way. Governments have been...
COLUMN: Driverless Cars? At Our Peril!
As a teen the fantastical technology of Star Trek riveted me. The phaser weapon, universal translator, hand held computer and medical tricorder all found an ‘if only’ niche in my imagination. A half century later my ‘if only’ has come closer to reality than I could ever have imagined. Laser pointers and battleship mounted laser […]
LETTER: B.C. needs to fix its record of brutal inaction on poverty policy
Dear Editor, In response to Deb McIntosh’s recent letter re: the Community Harvest Food Bank’s struggles to assist families and individuals living in poverty, we suggest it is high time that our wealthy province makes some meaningful policy changes so that the families of one in five children in BC don’t have to be dependent...
On Choosing a New Electoral System
Hon. Maryam Monsef, Minister of Democratic Institutions, House of Commons, OTTAWA, ON K1A 0A6 Dear Minister Monsef, RE: Electoral Reform Democracy has been my life-long passion, and I believe that one of democracy’s primary elements is the process by which citizens elect their representatives. My reason for writing...
