I began composing this edition of The Arc on February 29, but I didn’t get very far in my writing before unimaginable events in Canada overtook my topic.  This is how I began: ______________________________________________________ Can Being an Elder have meaning in our accelerated era? [My envy of seniors in times and cultures...

Editor: Two points about the  response of some people to the Covid 19 pandemic: In the US, one decides one's response on the basis of party-political identification. I say this on the basis of polling by Pew Research. “Is it raining?” you  may ask an American. “I will get back to you, once I know how the Party formulates our...

If you look at a forest top from above or below, you might see a pattern of nicely spaced pathways twisting between the trees. This phenomenon is known as “crown shyness.”  Attempts have been made to explain it, with most experts concluding it’s due to many factors. Initially, it was thought to be wind making the upper branches...

OPEN LETTER: UBCIC demands immediate release of all non-violent offenders as part of COVID-19 pandemic response and emergency state of Indigenous incarceration Dear Ministers, Dr. Ivan Zinger, Canada’s Chief Correctional Officer, has called the current rates of Indigenous incarceration in Canada a national travesty, with...

The District Recreation Officer for Trails and Recreation Sites BC  has ordered that all day use shelters, overnight-use cabins, and other facilities that would make it difficult for users to observe the two-metre social distancing measures, be closed until further notice. That means that everyone out exercising in the...

The COVID-19 crisis continues to deepen around the world, across Canada and throughout British Columbia.  We are at a critical time in the progress of the pandemic where we can all make a huge difference—by staying home and avoiding close contact with our friends, neighbours and other community members.  These actions may be...

There are many things that could happen as we face the Covid-19 pandemic. Here is an imagined vision of the future that is possible, though not likely unless people take the appropriate actions. I have imagined a path to a positive outcome. How do you think it will play out? Let’s imagine this future and how it happened: It’s...

By Kendra Coulter, for The Conversation My favourite police officer on television is smart, empathetic, attentive and brave. He’s also incredibly handsome. I’m talking about Rex, the fictional police canine played by the German shepherd Diesel vom Burgimwald who co-stars on CITY TV’s hit show Hudson & ...

I am writing this from my small Ottawa apartment.  It’s Sunday and the spring sun is shining, beckoning me to walk down to the river.  But I’ll obey my doctor’s orders and stay inside—although I received the good news yesterday that my COVID-19 test results came back negative, I was told to stay in self-isolation one more...

By Sarah Cox, for The Narwhal The pipeline at the centre of the Wet’suwet’en conflict is also central to the province’s long-running effort to attract multinational corporations and build up a liquefied natural gas export empire — all with infusions of public money. Here’s what you need to know...