Alex Atamanenko, MP (BC Southern Interior), introduced a Private Members Bill in the House of Commons today that would give conscientious objectors an official sanction to spend their taxes on nonviolent alternatives to war. Bill C-363, would allow Canadians, who object to paying taxes for military purposes on conscientious or religious grounds, to divert an […]

This blog comes to you from the United States …where the Occupy movement is real and still relevant.Make no mistake about it there is a BIG difference between the majority of those keeping the Occupy movement alive down south and those Occupy pretenders in Vancouver/Victoria who have co-opted and stolen the original cause. ...

Canadians across the country are mobilizing to oppose the rushed passage of the Omnibus Crime Bill. If passed, Bill C-10 would shift Canada to a cruel, costly and failed fill-the-prisons approach to justice. The 150+ cross-country actions at MP’s constituency offices are focused on Thursday at 1PM, with some taking place throughout the day and Friday. […]

The amazingly resilient Occupy phenomenon is running up against the same ugly reality that so many social movements have encountered over the past 20 years: There is a world of difference between influence and power.  Governments and the corporations they serve have power — that is, the power of money (and the law) to make ...

We often hear stories in the press about mercenary armies in which soldiers-for-hire do the dirty work of various governments around the world. One such group is Xe Services,which was originally foundedby former US Special Forces SEAL Erik Prince, under the name of Blackwater. This private mercenary company was first contracted by the American government in […]

Catching a politician with their hand in the cookie jar is far more juicy than actually building a better cookie jar, so it's little surprise that proposing changes to BC's electoral finance laws is hardly seen as sexy. But if voters truly want accountability and transparency restored to BC politics, it starts with prying the...

The Conservatives are hiding from opposition scrutiny by invoking closure to limit the Justice Committee’s debate on the government’s controversial omnibus crime bill, C-10, cccording to Alex Atamanenko, MP for BC Southern Interior. “This is just the latest of seven examples this session where Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have moved to bypass parliamentary work and prevent […]

Here, in our last installment of Candidate Questions, is one that pertains to the use of pesticides on Rossland's lawns. And here it is: "A controversial bylaw to ban “cosmetic” pesticides in town failed to get through council twice in the last term. How did you vote or would you have voted" CARY FISHER: I understand the fear...

One of the biggest decisions on the immediate horizon--certainly in terms of sheer price tag--that the new council will have to deal with will be the Columbia-Washington upgrades and the proposed re-creation of our downtown--cost, noise, disruption, and all. With this in mind we asked the candidates the following question: "What...

We’ll do just that tomorrow evening, Thursday, 7 p.m., with "beers and ballots" at the Red Room. All the candidates have been invited to spend the evening discussing the finer points of local politics—and some of the brightest lights have confirmed—while Tim and Gabriella put on their $10 pitcher special for their selection...