Open letter from SD20 superintendent Greg Luterbach
Dear Parents and Guardians, Today the British Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF) announced their intention to perform a full-scale withdrawal of the services on Monday, March 5 through Wednesday, March 7. This strike action is legal, given a recent Labour Relations Board ruling allowing teachers to walk out for up to three days after giving two […]
Teachers' strike may cost picketers local support
A three-day strike to begin next Monday may cost BC teachers the support of some local parents, as residents scramble to find childcare with less than 48-hours notice (not counting the weekend). Jeanette Cook is a Castlegar mom with three kids, ages four, 12 and 13, who was supposed to start post-secondary school on Monday. […]
BCTF teachers to strike, no school next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
The following is a press release issued just after 1 p.m. today by the BC Teachers’ Federation: Next Monday, March 5, teachers across B.C. will begin a legal three-da,y full-scale withdrawal of services, as permitted under the Labour Relations Board interim essential services order. At 6 a.m. today, the BCTF issued notice of the escalation […]
Council "smells the coffee" and "jumps out of the pool," removing the four-season aquatic centre from the 2012 five year financial plan
As council continued to trudge through the draft 2012 five year financial plan (FP) on Monday evening, four of seven on council decided they did not want the $5 million four-season pool project in the FP, even though a contentious grant application for this project was submitted in December. The debate boiled down to two...
Debate to expand the Aquatic Centre subsidy program stalled until summer
Council voted to delay debate on a policy amendment to expand the Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre (TALC) subsidy program until after a plebiscite is held this summer. The decision split council 4-3, with Moore, Coun. Jody Blomme, and Coun. Jill Spearn against. Coun. Cary Fisher was also against the delay at the beginning of...
Rossland Radio Co-op gets half their rent waived, but remain on the hook for roof repairs
Council voted 4-3 in favour of a one year deal with the Rossland Radio Co-op (RRC) to waive 50 per cent of the rent for their space in the city's Rotary Health building, 1870 Columbia, and to amortize the full bill the RRC was presented for roof repairs over 12 monthly payments. Two weeks ago RRC’s Marty Cancilla asked...
Canada supports the dark side of international finance
You can say one thing for the powers that be in the banking industry. They’ve got a lot of nerve. This past week our own finance minister Jim Flaherty, along with Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, came out strongly in opposition to a modest proposal to regulate the US banking system. Their interventions followed...
Bahraini ‘reformers’ in Washington, courtesy of American spinmeisters
By Justin Elliot in ProPublica. Earlier this month, a group of three young Bahrainis arrived in Washington to talk about reform in the small Persian Gulf nation, which has been rocked by Arab Spring protests for the last year. The delegation, including an NGO worker and a tech entrepreneur, both Western-educated, represented...
Two Ways the Provincial Budget Will Affect Municipalities
Last week’s provincial budget includes two items that will directly impact municipalities: the increase in Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums, and the creation of a new Auditor General for Local Government. MSP will increase local government expenses Increases to MSP premiums will amount to about $60 per year per person. This cost will be passed […]
Canadians call for enquiry on alleged robocall election fraud
Over 20,000 Canadians have joined with online campaigning organization Leadnow.ca to call for a full and independent public inquiry into an alleged systematic voter deception phone campaign that targeted likely non-Conservative voters in key ridings during the May 2011 election. Since the campaign launched on Friday, 20,000...
