Midway border crossing on secret closure list
A leaked government document about the future of Canada’s border crossings — including possible closure, reduced hours, sharing of facilities and remote monitoring — lists Midway, Cascade, Nelway and Chopaka crossings. The document, “Small Port Working Group – Initial Results and Paths Forward”, was done collectively between Canada’s Customs and Border Services Agency(CBSA) and […]
OP/ED: Nestle Waters takes issue with Atamanenko's bottled-water stance
I read with interest the article that appeared in the December 9, 2011, edition of The Castlegar Source entitled, “MP wants bottled water banned.” In the piece, BC South Interior MP Alex Atamanenko based his recent statement about bottled water in the House of Commons on information that has long been confirmed as false — […]
Border security deal's ugly twin carries major energy and environmental implications for Canada
The Harper government officially announced in recent weeks a new Border Security deal with the US. However, little press space was given to the ugly twin of this deal - the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) and their "Joint Action Plan". The RCC was set up to "streamline" regulations in four economic...
Bridesville residents say road conditions are unacceptable
Bridesville residents have had enough and they let the government and Emcon know it. On the evening of Monday, Dec. 12, more than 60 people packed the Bridesville Community Hall to discuss what they feel is a deteriorating road service in their area. Boundary-Similkameen MLA John Slater, two Emcon employees and Stephanie Gillis, […]
Teen dance sees five kids arrested; two likely to face charges
A teen dance at the Element Sunday night has caused upset in the community after five kids between 15 and 17 years of age were arrested for drug and alcohol offences. This, during a teen dance that drew as many as 400 kids, according to Element owner Florio Vassilakakis. Castlegar RCMP Sgt. Laurel Matthew said […]
Time is short to give input into the 2012 budget and five-year-plan
'Tis the season to wrangle over the municipal budget, so if you have an opinion about how the city should spend taxpayer money, we (and the city) want to hear about it now!The timeframe for your opinion to be heard is very short. On Monday evening, the committee-of-the-whole — absent new councillors Cary Fisher and Jody...
OP/ED: Occupy Vancouver blocks New Brighton Park Port
On a crisp and sunny afternoon, over one hundred Occupy protesters held a rally and march in support of the Occupy movements all across the West Coast of Turtle Island (North America) to send a strong and clear message to the 1%. “We here to support workers who are under union busting, who aren’t even […]
RUSSIA: "Why are Russians protesting now?"
On Saturday December 10, 2011, the world watched the biggest protests Russia has seen since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. It has been almost exactly 20 years since Christmas Day in 1991 when power passed from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. It is believed that Yeltsin did not...
OP/ED: Clark and Bond wrong on public, wrong on electoral finance reform
The BC Liberal government may have committed itself to transparency, new ideas and engaging with British Columbians in its October 3rd Throne speech, but according to IntegrityBC the memo doesn't seem to have quite reached every minister. The non-partisan organization was reacting to a letter it received from Attorney General...
Government introducing new passports in 2012
Passport Canada will start issuing higher-security electronic passports, or ePassports, to Canadians next year. With the ePassport, Canadians will have the option of getting a new, security-enhanced passport that is valid for five years, starting next year, or a 10-year passport, starting in early 2013. Today, in accordance with the User Fees Act, Passport Canada […]
