Castlegar hosts pre-election workshop for region
Government! Government! Government! Despite your initial reaction, government is not a four letter word. Too often, we criticize it and complain about it as if it were the enemy. Federal and provincial partisan governments get lumped in with local government often leaving a sour taste in people’s mouth. But your local government is different. It […]
Column: From the Hill -- Columbia River Treaty issues
Last week I spent three days in Spokane at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region meetings. Over 600 legislators, business people, and other interested folks from BC, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon and Northwest Territories gathered to talk about issues important to this region....
Native Plants vs. Herbicides: Oregon Grape Quandary in the Columbia Cemetery
Last year, several hikers were alarmed and dismayed by signs in the old Columbia Cemetery announcing that a nearby native shrub – Oregon grape -- had been treated with herbicide. They wondered why a harmless native plant was being sprayed, in a City with a policy of not using herbicides except in unusual circumstances...
Editorial: Our Choice of Voting Systems -- Part Eight.
There are large, loud and expensive ads urging people to vote against Proportional Representation in this fall’s referendum. Are the points made in those ads valid? As citizens, or even just as residents, we should all care deeply about how well our government serves the public interest. We need to get it ...
Column: From the Hill -- the Bus Service Problem
Greyhound’s announcement that it will be pulling all its routes out of western Canada at the end of October came as a surprise, and for many it was more serious news. It left them wondering how they were going to travel to work sites, to visit relatives and friends, or to go to university in the fall. For them, the bus isn’t...
Editorial: Our Choice of Voting Systems -- Part Seven: Extremism?
Why people defend FPTP and oppose Proportional Representation: There have been some frightening statements made about proportional representation, by a few people. Why do they want to keep using First-Past-the-Post (FPTP)? What are their reasons for opposing all of the three Pro-rep systems being offered in this fall’s...
Rossland arena's importance; a video surveillance policy; toward that Forest Park; water restrictions? And more . . .
Rossland City Council Meetings, July 16, 2018 Present: Mayor Kathy Moore and Councillors Lloyd McLellan, John Greene, Andrew Zwicker, Andy Morel, and Aaron Cosbey. Absent: Marten Kruysse. 1. Public Hearing: Council invited members of the public to express their opinions on four bylaws: the bylaw on Cannabis Regulation...
Opinion: Is it ever right for political leaders to defy court orders?
Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Ian Binnie said, “I think the recent popularity amongst political leaders denouncing judicial outcomes is extremely dangerous.” He was referring to the fact that Green Party Member of Parliament (and party leader) Elizabeth May and NDP Member of Parliament Kennedy Stewart defied a court...
Letter to the Editor: My personal fact check
Electoral Reform : My Personal Fact Check #1 Having read through the selection of ‘news and reports’ on the nobcprorep website, there are a few claims that lack support: one is that proportional representation will lead to a string of minority governments along with economic instability. I also just skimmed through the World...
Letter: PR levels playing field
To The Editor: One of the things that first attracted me to proportional representation, PR, apart from the fact that it just made sense, is that it is supported by people across the political spectrum. At my first PR meeting in 2004, I sat next to someone from the Canadian Rate Payer's Federation and Andrew Coyne was the...
