Last week I was the NDP representative at the House of Commons Finance Committee’s pre-budget consultation hearings in British Columbia and Alberta.  We heard from about a dozen witnesses each day, all with good ideas on how the federal government could help Canadians, their businesses and their communities through the 2017...

To The Editor: The Vancouver Sun article: “Scarce Moose” is hardly surprising to that small percent of hunters, outfitters and concerned citizens who are fully aware of the sorry state of wildlife management in BC. Weak wildlife management started to go downhill in 1996 when Premier Glen Clark facing a sea of red ink demanded...

Here is Part II of this lengthy article.  To review Part I, click on this link. The 60’s Generation and political change: No revolution The question again puts my focus on the effects of the ‘60’s on culture. We heard then about a Generation Gap. Parents and their boomer children were divided by age, and age determined one’s...

There will many announcements and pronouncements for and against the federal government’s approval of the Petronas LNG project if, in view of the 190 pre-conditions, approval is the appropriate term. What aroused my curiosity was the identity of developer: who is Petronas? Petronasis an oil and gas giant created a little over...

To The Editor: October 1st is the United Nations-declared “International Day of the Older Person.” The theme this year is ageism, a prejudice that the UN describes as the most socially-normalized form of discrimination worldwide. The term was coined in 1969 to describe a form of discrimination based on age. Since this time,...

How much do you pay for BC Medical Services Plan (MSP)?  This year, if you're a single person who earned $21,900 (or so) last year ("adjusted net income"), you'll pay nothing  -- as long as you applied for Premium Assistance.  But if you're a couple, and you and your spouse earned a total of $30,001 last year, then this year...

On May 5th, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report titled, Federal Spending on Postsecondary Education. One of its findings was that Canadian college and university students come from disproportionately wealthy families—about 60% of students are from families in the top 40% of income. That’s perhaps not surprising, but a related find was:  the federal […]

To The Editor: The Canadian public is faced with the most important political decision of our time. The Federal Government is know deciding on whether our not to change our voting system and is inviting public input on this decision. Our ability to vote and be fairly represented is at the core of our democratic rights. The ...

For the next several weeks, history is being made at the Nelson, B.C. courthouse, as an indigenous man named Rick Desautel sets the love of his ancestors against the logical machinery of the provincial government.  While this case arguing for the right of an “extinct” man to hunt in his territory may not seem to have much...

Wild Pacific salmon face an upstream battle for survival Salmon have been swimming in Pacific Northwest waters for at least seven million years, as indicated by fossils of large saber-tooth salmon found in the area. During that time, they’ve been a key species in intricate, interconnected coastal ecosystems, bringing nitrogen...