By: Don McRae, Minister of Agriculture, B.C. The places we live and work are important to all of us, but possibly none more so than communities with a rich agricultural tradition.  These communities produce the food British Columbian families rely on, contribute to jobs we depend on, and are home to countless families, friends and […]

I see the Israeli media is crowing about their victories against the “mighty” Freedom Flotilla II. Due to Israel’s world-wide assault on the flotilla, various countries have buckled under the pressure. The governments of France and Cyprus have barred Freedom Flotilla II ships from their waters. Greece may attempt to prevent ships from leaving her […]

By Suzanne Goldenberg, guardian.co.uk It looks like Barack Obama may be reneging on his promise to put solar panels on the roof of the White House by the end of this spring. On the other hand, the administration is pushing ahead with its plan to expand the deployment of large-scale solar power plants. The interior […]

An open letter to British Columbians from Premier Clark British Columbians are understandably embarrassed and disappointed by Wednesday night’s activities. It should have been a celebration of the tremendous effort by the Canucks in their playoff run. It turned into a shameful display of behaviour by people bent on violence. The vast majority of citizens […]

Based on our crime stats, Rossland wouldn’t appear to be a prime location for an episode of the television show Cops. This week’s City Council meeting, however, would have made for a good first episode of such a series. Simmering tensions came to a head and ended with Charlton being removed from council chambers by […]

Anyone who truly believes in democratic principles should be outraged the federal government’s response to Air Canada’s employee strike action is to threaten back to work legislation, said the West Kootenay’s MP. BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko said the government’s action will criminalize the employee’s job action. “This is an unprecedented assault on labour […]

Dear Editor;  Your story “Budget fails to make life more affordable for Canadian families: Atamanenko” is misleading. As Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), I would like to correct MP Atamanenko’s statements and set the record straight.   Our Government is committed to strengthening the Canadian economy and promoting economic development. Measures […]

Now that the election frenzy has died down, life is getting back to normal.  I would like to congratulate all MPs who were re-elected and also to welcome our new MPs.  In particular, I would like to congratulate the two new MPs in neighbouring ridings: David Wilks in Kootenay-Columbia and Dan Albas in Okanagan-Coquihalla. The […]

By Marian Wang and Sergio Hernandez in ProPublica   Before Sarah Palin became a political pundit, reality TV star and household name, she did a whole lot of things in Alaska that raised eyebrows once she became a vice presidential nominee. Reporters began exploring some of those things at the time and filing public records […]

The new federal budget falls short of meeting expectations of Canadian families, says BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko. There are some positive aspects in the majority Conservative government’s budget, he conceded, such as gas tax dollars for long-term infrastructure funding for municipalities.  “However, overall the budget fails to make life more affordable for Canadian […]