Did you know that being a tradesperson may make you eligible for certain deductions? Some of these include Deduction for tools. You may be able to deduct the cost of eligible tools you bought in 2011 to earn employment income as a tradesperson (including apprentice mechanics). This cost includes any GST and provincial sales...

Bob Dylan wrote the lyrics; Peter, Paul and Mary recorded it in the early 1960s and I, coming of age as a young civil rights supporter and believer,  always found the song "Blowin' In The Wind" as evocative, emotional and energizing as the fight for equality and social justice took hold in the U.S. and Canada, including the...

Until this year, the purpose of the annual Canadian federal budget was to project government revenues, lay out spending priorities and forecast economic conditions for the upcoming year. Reading Budget 2012, announced last week by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, it soon becomes clear that this government has no intention of ...

There will be lots of soul searching and head scratching going on this week about what happened with the NDP leadership race. The mechanics of the convention, the interesting lack of deal-making, and how the balloting progressed are all fodder for those who enjoy going through the entrails of leadership conventions. Others ...

They should have landed with a thud. But instead last week's financial filings by hundreds of candidates in B.C.'s 2011 municipal elections were met with matter-of-fact reporting or shrugs of indifference. Yet, the tale they told couldn't have been sung better by Liza Minelli and Joel Grey in Cabaret if they had tried: “money...

This weekend, the federal NDP will not only choose a new leader, but determine whether the party descends further as a parochial servant of Quebec or re-establishes itself as a true national party. NDP supporters won’t like it, but the truth is that, in the push for power, former leader Jack Layton and the NDP party sold out […]

MP Alex Atamanenko (BC Southern Interior) said the Conservative’s plan to make changes to the Fisheries Act in an omnibus federal budget bill next week has been exposed and the federal government needs to come clean on its agenda. A former DFO employee Otto Langer leaked documents last week that shone a light on government ...

Whether or not salmon farms continue operating in BC's marine waters may depend more on economic than environmental factors. Despite withering criticism concerning the ecological safety of its open net-pen operations, the salmon farming industry has doggedly continued on its corporate course. However, two unforeseen factors...

There are so many factors that NDP members have to look at when choosing who to vote for in their leadership race that I don’t envy them (I am not a member). How do you weigh the various elements: policies, philosophy, engaging personality, ability to take on Stephen Harper in the House, co-operation with the Liberals, and ...

Check out this new cartoon from Gerry Hummel highlighting the push to open up BC and Alberta's fossil fuel resources to emerging Asian markets like China. In recent months both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Resources Minister Joe Oliver have told Canadians and leaders on the world's stage that the Enbridge Northern ...