Out of Left Field: Election results a mixed bag
Well, that was just about the most bizarre election ever. Not on the local front – that came out exactly as expected, with incumbent NDP MLA Katrine Conroy taking a landslide victory with 10,606 votes (or 62.99 per cent of the popular vote), Liberal candidate Jim Postnikoff getting 3,592 votes (21.33 per cent), independent Joseph […]
Mungall back on top in Nelson/Creston, Liberals back on top in BC
By Suzy Hamilton and Bruce Fuhr, The Nelson Daily NDP incumbent Michelle Mungall may have won the battle in Nelson/Creston, but Christy Clark’s Liberals won the war in B.C. The B.C. Liberals shocked everyone by returning to power for a fourth consecutive term with a majority government following Tuesday’s General Election. “Well that was easy,” […]
COMMENT: Endbridge
On his return from an inspection trip to examine the results of the clean-up undertaken by Enbridge following an oil spill in Michigan, a Terrace municipal official was impressed with what he saw and experienced. He cautioned citizens to “dig into [the] facts who Enbridge is” when evaluating their proposal for the Northern ...
Liberty, Libertarians, Liberals and Collective Society: Confusing I with We, me with us.
“Freedom is just another word for...” ? No, I am not asking you to finish the lyric from Me and Bobby McGee. I am asking that we be clear about political liberalism, economic liberalization, and personal freedom. I want to argue that critics of the “neo-liberal agenda” of global capitalism are using words too loosely. ...
UPDATE: Local Fortis job action minimal
Update: A 72-hour job action notice that could’ve seen as many as 225 Fortis BC employees, including those here in Castlegar, Trail, South Slocan, Warfield and Rossland, on strike as of Sunday hasn’t amounted to much, according to Fortis spokesman Neal Pobran. Pobran said no action was taken Sunday, and minimal action is being taken […]
Advanced polling turn-out mirrors 2009 numbers in Kootenay West/ Kootenay East boasts better numbers
The results are in for advanced polling Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so far (with Saturday’s due this afternoon) in the B.C. election, and while the province in general is seeing a voter-turn-out increase of about 20 per cent over 2009 numbers, Kootenay West district is very much on par, with only 14 more voters than […]
COMMENT: Shadowy background to Harper’s war on science revealed
Much has been written in the past year about the Harper government’s war on science. The almost daily drip, drip of abandoned environmental treaties, nobbled scientists and access denied to existing government science is a bit like Chinese water torture for those who believe government policy should be evidence-based,...
HE SAID SHE SAID: Public outcry pushes for sustainability, but council digs in its core service heels
Following council’s five hour debate on the entire budget on May 1, council was forced to pause the financial plan blitz for twenty minutes on May 6 to hear nine members of the public oppose the only major cut: approximately $20,000 axed from the Sustainability Commission (SC), terminating their paid coordinator with no...
COMMENT: Financial Plan passes with no hint of public consultation, or thought
Council approved the 2013-2017 financial plan (FP) on Wednesday morning, just one week after the bulk of debate was completed in a single unpublicized meeting on May 1. No major changes came about in a follow-up meeting on May 6 that concluded with council passing the first three readings of this year's FP bylaw. The major...
Downtown trash cans and more uncanned, but recanning remains possible
Council has decided to reinstate the downtown furniture budget that it had put on hold last year. The $108,000 line item includes benches, but also bike racks, recycling bins, bear-proof garbage containers, and the eclectic but contentious ore cart. Council's decision, however, stipulates that city staff will return to council...