Would Rossland be vulnerable to the wildfire losses experienced elsewhere in BC over the summer of 2017 in the event of a nearby wildfire? Or could FireSmart measures provide protection? Don Mortimer, Rossland resident and consultant with FireSmart Canada, thinks preventive measures can provide significant protection. Residents...

Universal pharmacare is a hot topic on Parliament Hill these days.  The concept is simple—a single program that would ensure that all Canadians had free access to prescription drugs.  Canada is the only country in the world with universal health care that doesn’t include the cost of drugs in its coverage. And that doesn’t...

The Canadian government is banning plastic microbeads in toiletries. Although designed to clean us, they’re polluting the environment, putting the health of fish, wildlife and people at risk. Manufacturers and consumers ushered plastic microbeads into the marketplace, but when we learned of their dangers, we moved to phase ...

The West Kootenay Branch of Engineers and Geoscientists of BC held an induction ceremony on September 27th, presenting three new engineers with their certificates and entry into the profession. The ceremony was part of the Annual General Meeting of the branch, held in Nelson. Council member Larry Spence, P.Eng., handed out ...

Public Hearing: 6:00 pm, Tuesday, October 10, 2017 Present:  Mayor Kathy Moore, and Councillors Lloyd McLellan, Marten Kruysse, John Greene, Aaron Cosbey, Andy Morel, and Andrew Zwicker. This Public Hearing was scheduled to receive public input on  the following draft bylaws: a)      Business Licence Bylaw No. 2326, 2017, and...

Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting:  4:00 pm, Tuesday, October 10, 2017 Present:  Mayor Kathy Moore, and Councillors Lloyd McLellan, Marten Kruysse, John Greene, Aaron Cosbey, Andy Morel, and Andrew Zwicker. Public Input Period: A resident complained about the light outside his place because it "lights up my place like a ball...

The fact that science is the foundation for civilization and democracy should be self-evident. Regrettably, that connection seems often to escape our collective consciousness. We tend to think of science narrowly as restricted to high-tech, laboratories, and the development of electric cars or travel to Mars. But everything...

BC's southern-most herd of mountain caribou is now so tiny that it can barely be called a "herd." What's been happening to them? Bryce Comer's avocation is film-making, and he has been working on a film documenting the southern herd of mountain caribou since 2008.  Comer explained that while their...

In response to customer interest in solar power, FortisBC has applied to the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) to build the Ellison Community Solar Pilot Project, a community solar array that, if approved, would be B.C.’s largest utility-led community solar project to date. If approved, this project would provide FortisBC customers an opportunity to meet a […]

Conservative Member of Parliament Mel Arnold wants to make theft of firefighting equipment, which theft causes "actual danger to life,"  a specific Criminal Code offense with a maximum penalty of imprisonment for life. That's the same maximum penalty as mischief causing actual danger to life. Anyone who was evacuated from...