Last week I had the honour of laying a wreath on behalf of Canada in remembrance of our veterans at the cenotaph in Castlegar.  My childhood memories of these outdoor events are coloured by bone-chilling winds and early snowfalls, but last Friday a truly warm sun peeked out of the clouds. A large eagle flew overhead as the ...

By Charles Eisenstein Normal is coming unhinged. For the last eight years it has been possible for most people (at least in the relatively privileged classes) to believe that society is sound, that the system, though creaky, basically works, and that the progressive deterioration of everything from ecology to economy is a...

A quick glance over current headlines: madness and dread “You spread your paranoia, all over this land – Creating situations you don’t understand… You’ve got to stop flashing pictures of the People. Stop! Flashing pictures of the Power!” -- Tom Fogarty, Goodbye Media Man [1968] “In times of apparent madness, the insane person...

Over the last couple of years many elected officials in our region have been trying hard to improve collaboration and cooperation between our various local governments. Unfortunately, the region has just experienced a major setback. One area that was a sparkling example of regional cooperation was the economic development...

A recent scathing opinion piece by Murray Dobbin outlined the shortcomings of food in some health care facilities administered by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA). Both the quality and the quantity of the food served were reported as inadequate, even for institutional food which is understandably challenging to...

It has long been well known that fine particulates and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) containing carcinogens, including benzene and other toxic chemicals, are released from wood burning stoves and that these are a proven serious health hazard.  However, what is not widely known is the scale or magnitude of the impact of...

Note:  This article was originally posted on the Worldwatch Institute blog. Worldwatch is an independent research organization based in Washington, D.C. that works on energy, resource, and environmental issues. Much of the energy of the environmental movement and of policymaking is focused on reducing greenhouse gas...

In July, a pipeline leak near Maidstone, Saskatchewan, spilled about 250,000 litres of diluted oil sands bitumen into the North Saskatchewan River, killing wildlife and compromising drinking water for nearby communities, including Prince Albert. It was one of 11 spills in the province over the previous year. In October, a...

The forest industry has been a critically important sector in the BC economy for over a century, but it has been hit hard.  A 30-year trade war with the United States cost our industry billions of dollars.  The softwood lumber agreement did bring back certainty to lumber export access and costs, but the Canadian industry paid...

Just how far is the B.C. government willing to go to guard its secrets? A great distance, if the 2012 health ministry firings are any indication. Four million documents linked to the firings have mysteriously materialized out of thin air for the latest investigation into the scandal, this one by B.C. ombudsperson Jay Chalke....