Rossland's "Climate Action Town Hall" meeting on July 4 saw a room full of concerned people at the Prestige  Mountain Resort posing suggestions on how Canada should address climate change. Richard Cannings, Member of Parliament for South Okanagan-West Kootenay,  noted, "We are not here to debate climate change.  That debate...

Broken records define the climate crisis We’re living in a time of records. More renewable energy came on stream in 2015 than ever — 147 gigawatts, equal to Africa’s entire generating capacity — and investment in the sector broke records worldwide. Costs for producing solar and wind power have hit record lows. Portugal obtained...

Dear Editor: Canada Post management has given every indication that they will lock out their clerks and letter carriers and rural drivers any time after July 2. Negotiations have been ongoing for six months and in the spring, management applied for conciliation and requested that process be speeded up so they could lock us ...

South Australia sets an example for the country and the world First-time visitors to Australia are often drawn to the big city attractions of Sydney and Melbourne or the fabulous beaches of Queensland’s Gold Coast. I’ve always had a soft spot for Adelaide in South Australia, a city built more on a human scale, where downtown...

To The Editor: Open letter to Minister of Education Mike Bernier   Dear Minister Bernier,   We are writing to bring your attention to the financial struggle rural school districts face in this province.  In our constituencies of Nelson-Creston and Kootenay West, rural schools are facing closure and districts are charging...

As a wise and departed friend once said to me, “I feel a letter coming on”. A Bear Banger is a very loud explosive that is launched from a hand held cylinder. They are meant for use in remote areas to ward off aggressive bears for fear of one’s safety. Hikers, wilderness campers, wildlife photographers and the like often carry...

Eileen Delehanty Pearkes has been researching and writing about the history and politics of water in the upper Columbia Basin since 2005.  Her book on the Columbia River Treaty, A River Captured, is expected to be released in a few months.  Recently, her travelling exhibit on the Columbia River Treaty, curated for Touchstones...

Former chief of staff to then-Premier Gordon Campbell, Martyn Brown made some refreshingly candid comments about B.C.'s political financing culture on Shaw TV's Voice of B.C. the other day. “No corporation, no industry, no union gives the level of money that they give to politicians without expecting special consideration in...

By Member Of Pariliament for South Okanagan- West Kootenay, Richard Cannings:  Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying) In March I wrote in this column about the ongoing debates in Parliament around medical aid in dying, brought on by the Supreme...

Calculating farming’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is difficult, but experts agree that feeding the world’s people has tremendous climate and environmental impacts. Estimates of global emissions from farms range widely. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts them at 24 per cent, including deforestation,...