Stephen Harper is planning to do away with the per-vote subsidy to political parties. Brought in under the Chretien Liberals, this is the subsidy that, along with putting stricter limits on union and corporate donations, was meant to reduce political influence over Canadian elections.  Under current laws it is no longer...

To: Hon. Keith Ashfield, PC, MP,  Minister of Fisheries and Oceans  Dear Minister,   I am writing on behalf of the board of directors of the Sport Fishing Institute of British Columbia to express our profound disappointment with your decision to close the recreational halibut fishery on Sept. 5, thus creating the shortest recreational Pacific […]

 The City of Castlegar is upping the ante in its green gamble – after offering composters and rain barrels to great effect in previous years, they’re now bringing residents green kitchen can composters. Why are they doing this, you ask?  Easy – because the alternative stinks.  “The composters have carbon filters on top – if […]

By: Jordan Bateman, Canadian Taxpayers Federation If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: that’s what our parents taught us. But what if something is so broken, it can’t be fixed at all? The Pacific Carbon Trust (PCT) is broken beyond repair. It sucks millions of dollars out of taxpayers’ pockets every year and deposits them […]

Over 100 delegates from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities were in Nelson today for one of their regular board meetings, with preparations for parliament on the menu. The FCM represents the interests of its 2,000 member municipalities on policy issues that are handled at the federal level. During the scheduled meetings, board members will discuss […]

Ask and you shall receive. And Joyce Murray, Liberal MP for Vancouver Quadra and former BC Environment Minister, asked what the Kootenay region needed. The former East Shore resident wrapped up her two-day tour meeting Wednesday with community leaders from Nelson, Castlegar, Trail, and the Queens Bay area to discuss key local issues related to […]

BC is in deep trouble: we now have a government that has no moral, no public and no legal legitimacy to govern. Christy Clark’s government was never elected by the people of this province, on the basis of any endorsed platform, program, promises or outlined plans for governing. And she herself--before taking the premier’s...

Some of the nation’s top municipal leaders will descend on Nelson next week as the Heritage city plays host to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) national board of directors meeting. With parliament set to return, the 75-member board  — which includes Nelson Mayor John Dooley — will discuss municipal priorities from Sept. 7-10, including […]

Squeaking in under the deadline wire, Boundary Sawmills Inc. (BSI) secured a loan this week for $1 million to complete the Midway mill purchase.  Working with the Heritage Credit Union over the weekend, Doug McMynn, president of BSI, said they were able to not only cover their outstanding debt to Fox Lumber Sales Ltd., but […]

When Elections BC announced the turnout in this summer’s HST referendum, it’s likely a few bottles of champagne were popped. Cheap champagne, but still champagne. It seemed conventional wisdom was cutting both ways as pundits weighed-in on who would benefit the most from what was seen as a higher than expected turnout: the scrap the […]