Castlegar/Trail rivalry renewed over regional hospital discussion
A meeting between Castlegar representatives and BC Health Minister Mike de Jong is creating conflict between Castlegar and Trail city councillors. Castlegar councillors Kevin Chernoff and Russ Hearne, along with city manager John Malcolm, met with de Jong March 1 to discuss a variety of issues – including the possibility of a new regional hospital. […]
It's official, Bill 22 passes into law Thursday
The B.C. legislature made it official, passing back-to-work legislation that temporarily ends a contract dispute with the province’s 41,000 teachers. The new law will impose a six-month cooling-off period, ban strike action and see to the appointment of a mediator to try to work out a new contract. Although the mediator must stick to the […]
Being able to supply our region's food topic of upcoming forum
Alex Atamanenko, MP for BC Southern Interior, is all set to welcome constituents to a series of public forums he has organized with others throughout the riding on the topic of Food Sovereignty. “I couldn’t be more pleased that Colleen Ross, Vice President of Policy for the National Farmers Union (NFU) has offered to share […]
Rossland offers a new location for the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum
As the Rossland Museum seeks to renew its momentum after the closure of the Black Bear mining adit, formerly the museum's main attraction, Mayor Greg Granstrom recently wrote to Chris Edgell of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame (CSHF) in Ottawa to offer "a serious expression of interest by the City of Rossland to provide a new ...
Public input encouraged as Rossland's audit begins
Rossland's auditor, Amed Naqvi of the firm Berg, Naqvi, Lehmann (BNL), described the upcoming audit to council on Monday evening, and he also explained the important role of "concerned citizens" in the process. Each year, municipal records are subject to a third party audit to ensure that the business of the city was procedurally...
Former mayor leads delegation to council in support of Columbia redesign—parallel parking and all
In response to opposition to the Columbia Ave redesign with a wider sidewalk and parallel parking on the north side "feature block" between Queen and Washington, Bill Profili led a delegation to council on Monday evening to support the design. Profili said, "I'm here on behalf of a group of individuals who are very interested...
Atamanenko hosts Food Sovereignty forum Sunday at United Church
Alex Atamanenko, MP for BC Southern Interior is all set to welcome constituents to a series of public forums he has organized with others throughout the Riding on the topic of Food Sovereignty. The first forum is set for the United Church in Nelson, Sunday from 7-9 p.m. “I couldn’t be more pleased that Colleen […]
Waste of taxpayers dollars recognized at annual Teddy awards
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) held its 14th annual Teddy Waste Awards ceremony last week, giving well-deserved recognition to the worst of the worst in government waste. CTF federal director Gregory Thomas hosted for the first time as Master of Ceremonies at the black tie news conference on Parliament Hill on...
Mediator fails to achieve regional cooperation on sewer service, recommends binding arbitration for Rossland, Trail, and Warfield
Following an attempt last year to achieve a mediated solution to the ongoing sewer dispute between Rossland, Trail, and Warfield, the chair of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB), Larry Gray, wrote Minister Ida Chong on Feb. 8 to ask that the issue be declared a "prescribed matter suitable for binding arbitration."...
Council scraps DCCs and plans for new connection charges
Council will soon debate a series of bylaws to revoke both the Development Cost Charge (DCC) and the regional Sewer Cost Recovery Charge (SCRC), and to replace these with a single Service Capacity Connection Charge (CCC) for water, sewer, and drainage. Council's decision to support CCCs over DCCs and SCRCs was unanimous. They...