Editorial Rant: Are we stupid, or what?
We have more fatal crashes than any other region. Are more drivers in the Southern Interior region of BC notably more stupid than drivers elsewhere in BC? Do so many of us here just not have a clue about winter driving? Or are we so much unhealthier that we have that many more medical crises causing car crashes? The statistics...
Board chair pens Interior Health year in review
As 2018 approaches, it is a great opportunity to reflect on the past year. On behalf of Interior Health, it is my pleasure to recap some highlights. Of course the biggest story of 2017 was the wildfires that tore across several communities. In total 19 hospitals, health centres and residential care homes were evacuated. Close...
Opinion: Two words in sequence that should be banished from our lexicon: fake news
Risky to confess such things – especially publicly – but there are a few things that get under my skin fast. Eons ago, when I was in high school, it only took a single word. It wasn't the word itself so much, as it was the tone some used saying it that suggested you were getting flipped off more than you were communicating....
Editorial Rant: What are we celebrating? And how do we behave?
A plea for civility in the law, politics and our everyday lives Mid-winter is approaching, with our various seasonal celebrations: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and maybe even Festivus? We celebrate our religious and / or ethnic affiliations; we celebrate the return of the sun for longer periods of time each...
COLUMN: Elders, knowledge and a post-truth moment
“You and I have memories Longer than the road that stretches out ahead.” -- The Beatles, Two of Us Age and its discontents I begin the column with a line from a Beatles’ song, because it describes the situation for someone of my age, and for my peers. We...
COLUMN: Stop blaming God and 'nature' for what we've done
Traditionally, we’ve labelled events over which we have no influence or control “acts of God” or “natural disasters.” But what’s “natural” about climate-induced disasters today? Scientists call the interval since the Industrial Revolution the “Anthropocene,” a period when our species hasbecome the major factor altering the ...
Column: We must begin to curb the power of corporations
The revelations of the Paradise Papers, the earlier Panama Papers and numerous articles in the western mainstream and alternative media demonstrate just one dimension, tax evasion, of an increasingly obvious truth: global corporations have become the greatest threat to the planet. The deliberate starvation of government,...
Column: Fake News is Circulating on the Internet. Here's One Correction.
Renewable energy isn’t perfect, but it’s far better than fossil fuels In their efforts to discredit renewable energy and support continued fossil fuel burning, many anti-environmentalists have circulated a dual image purporting to compare a lithium mine with an oilsands operation. It illustrates the level of dishonesty to...
EDITORIAL: The move (or not) to electoral reform in BC
Why fill out the government's questionnaire? The BC government's questionnaire, seeking public input on electoral reform, is intended to find out what features of an electoral system are most highly valued by voters, so the government can decide which system or systems to offer. Go ahead -- express yourself! Tell them what...
From The Hill: Fix the Phoenix payroll system
Recently, the Auditor General of Canada released a report that addressed the Phoenix payroll that has seriously affected the lives of thousands of civil servants across this country. More than half of the public service sector is caught up in this -- many are being paid well below their proper salaries, some are not being...
