COMMENT: Why Justin Trudeau may be more dangerous than Stephen Harper
Justin Trudeau just may be Canada's most dangerous man. He of the throngs of adoring supporters, the pretty new face that promises to resurrect "Canada's party". The key positions he's taken thus far - supporting the sellout of our strategic energy resources to the Chinese Government, giving away our sovereignty through the...
OPINION: An update after disappointing Castlegar All Candidates Forum
Update: Unfortunately, the really big news coming out of last night’s All Candidate Forum in Castlegar was that less than one per cent of the Greater Castlegar population attended – roughly 55 people. Hopefully, residents will inform themselves via media and the Internet about the various candidates – but I’m afraid this doesn’t bode well […]
UPDATE: NDP incumbent Conroy responds to critical Kootenay Savings letter
Update: Letter to the Editor: On May 7, President and CEO of Kootenay Savings Credit Union, Brent Tremblay, wrote a letter to local media outlining his concerns with the proposed capital tax on financial institutions that the NDP has discussed implementing if we win government on May 14. Firstly, I want to thank Brent for […]
Jazz announces more flights to Castlegar's regional airport
Castlegar will be seeing more flights at its regional airport, according to a press release issued today. “The West Kootenay Regional Airport is pleased to advise that Jazz Air has increased its summer passenger service to better meet the needs of the travelling public in the West Kootenay region,” the release said. Airport manager Gerry […]
COMMENT: What ails B.C.'s democracy?
Trivia time: who was the last leader of the BC NDP to lead his party to more than 45 per cent of the popular vote in a provincial election? One would have to go back six leaders and eight elections to 1979 when Dave Barrett won 45.99 per cent of the popular vote and still lost the election to Bill Bennett and the Social Credit...
Generation Squeeze Campaign: A Better Generational Deal?
CBC Radio recently aired an interesting interview on with Dr. Paul Kershaw, an associate professor in the College for Interdisciplinary Studies at UBC, who has started an initiative called Generation Squeeze. We’ve all either heard of or personally experienced the Boomerang Generation, where children we thought we had...
Liberals narrow margin on NDP says Ipsos Reid poll
An Ipsos Reid poll taken in the days following the leaders’ debate shows positive movement for both the BC Liberals and leader Christy Clark. The NDP lead among decided voters has fallen from 19 points at the start of the campaign to 10 points today. And Adrian Dix’s lead over Christy Clark as Best Premier […]
Sustainability Commission funding in flames as museum budget nearly doubles for 2013
Funding to community groups was cut by four per cent (about $14,000) relative to 2012 levels overall at Wednesday evening's committee of the whole (COW), with the Sustainability Commission taking the main hit as funding for the SC manager disappeared—ostensibly to bring the role "in house" to the city—while the city granted...
Swathes of community support scythed in the 2013 budget
The Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Rossland, the Rossland Pool Society , and the Neighbourhoods of Learning committee were all cut by five per cent relative to 2012 funding during council’s Wednesday evening committee-of-the-whole (COW), for a total expenditure of $107,540—about $5660 less than 2012. Please note: all council ...
Star Gulch swimming hole dream deferred to 2014 or beyond
Facing hard budgetary constraints, council decided at Wednesday evening's committee-of-the-whole (COW) to defer a study on the potential conversion of the Star Gulch Reservoir beside Centennial Trail into a community swimming hole until at least 2014. With the massive increase in the city's water supply afforded by the...