I have occasionally been critical of the way we do politics. The recent leaders’ debate on electoral reform provides me with material to explain. The Opposition prefers electoral reform to be studied by a citizens’ assembly, as in 2003, over the Government’s process. It is a reasonable proposal. The members of the 2003 Citizens’...

By Marc Lee, for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, from Policy Note It is well established that we need targets and timelines for reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are causing climate change. BC’s latest targets include a 40% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 80% by 2050. And...

Don’t worry! The Group of Twenty (G20), composed of nineteen countries (including Canada) and the European Union, will meet in Buenos Aires (Argentina) November 30th and December 1st. By then, newspapers and media analysts will most likely tell us again that they won’t all get along on some major issues during this summit. ...

Introduction: topics committed, topics mapped “I will probably write the next column with the intent to persuade readers that the human project demands that non-conforming individuals challenge culture more and more, as culture more and more escapes our understanding, our ethics and morality, and our capacity to regulate it....

Can an entire society be mistaken in its values and habits?  Can the economic basis of a society lead to the destruction of our way of life and all that supports it?  Judging by what our global society is undergoing right now, the answer is yes.  Can we change our erroneous ways, and if we can change them, can we change them...

As I get older, I find there are fewer and fewer things I’m willing to get upset about – hence the lack of editorial rants of late. There is, however, one issue that has me so incensed, so appalled, so disgusted, so flat-out ashamed, that it’s taken me weeks to write about it without using some of the more colourful (and less...

Canadian climate change opinion is polarized, and research shows the divide is widening.The greatest predictor of people’s outlook is political affiliation. This means people’s climate change perceptions are being increasingly driven by divisive political agendas rather than science and concern for our collective welfare....

Let’s start with something simple: walking down the street. If you have moved to Rossland from a larger centre in the past little while, you may be accustomed to walking eyes-forward, avoiding looking at people, as if eye contact with a stranger could be dangerous, and greeting a stranger even more dangerous. Or you may be ...

By  Ben Parfitt, from The Narwhal When a public regulator repeatedly makes major decisions that favour corporate interests — quietly and behind closed doors — we have a problem. British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Office bills itself as a “neutral” provincial agency. But there is...

As pointed out by Dermod Travis of Integrity BC, there’s been lot written recently, both for and against proportional representation.  For those having trouble deciding how to vote, try the link provided at the bottom of this piece. Some of what we've all seen has been outright false.  Claims that rural ...