In a letter to a friend, written from her prison cell in Berlin in 1917, Rosa Luxemburg suggested that “[d]isappointment in the masses is always a compromising sign for political leaders.” The fate of Canada’s political leaders in the past decade validates Luxemburg’s proposition. Paul Martin, Stéphane Dion, Michael Ignatieff,...

So, what is everyone's honest opinion of Castlegar's new garbage bins and method of collection? I rent, so I don't even have my bin as of yet and garbage collection is this coming Wednesday. My landlords have requested one. I don't have anywhere to keep my garbage. If I put my old garbage can on the front patio, it is available...

(Author’s note: This column is an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Christy Clark and has been sent to them by snail mail.)  “A human being would certainly not grow to be seventy or eighty years old if this longevity had no meaning for the species to which he belongs.”         ...

By Richard Cannings, MP for South Okanagan -- West Kootenay Last week we saw the Liberal government bring forward their first budget, a document that was expected to deliver on the many promises they made just six short months ago during the campaign. Instead of fully delivering on those campaign commitments, they delivered...

Discussions on electoral reform are as persistent in Canadian politics as is their failure to achieve results. Before any decisions are contemplated on what kind of electoral system would best serve Canadian democracy, we ought to reflect on which objectives elections are to advance in a democratic society. What is a democracy?...

Dear Editor, This week, all School District #20 employees received an email from our superintendent delineating another example of our government manipulating funding formulas to extract every possible penny from Boards of Education. Our School District's 2016/2017 projected budget deficit increased from $650,000 to $950,000...

By David Suzuki More Affordable + More Jobs In the midst of controversy over B.C.’s Peace River Site C dam project, the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association released a study showing the province could get the same amount of energy more affordably from geothermal sources for about half the construction costs. Unlike Site C,...

Canadians had high expectations for change but instead of help, this budget is marked by the Liberals backtracking on their promises to tackle inequality. In particular, breaking promises to First Nation children, just like so many previous Liberal and Conservative governments “Residents of South Okanagan — West Kootenay were...

Earth’s oceans, lakes, rivers and streams are its circulatory system, providing life’s essentials for people, animals and ecosystems.  Canada has one-fifth of the world’s freshwater, a quarter of its remaining wetlands and its longest coastline.  With this abundance, it’s easy to take water for granted.  Many of our daily...

Stephen Harper, Donald Trump, and Angry Democracies “It’s an angry world but no doubt everything will go as planned.”                                                                        -- Neil Young, Angry World, from Le Noise The unavoidable comparison: Canada observes the USA When I was in secondary school and my young...