B.C. no longer the Best Place on Earth: The Tyee
The province is no longer the best place on Earth, as the Christy Clark era has seen the slow disintegration of the provincial slogan, The Tyee’s Bob Mackin writes. Once the advertising line from the Gordon Campbell-led government’s websites, “The Best Place on Earth” slogan is becoming a thing of history as the province distances […]
Throne speech focuses on creating jobs, safer communities
Monday’s throne speech opening the fourth session of the 39th Parliament in B.C. focused on job creation, building stronger, safer communities and continuing to open up government for British Columbia families. The Province could be introducing changes to benefit families: The introduction of a new provincial statutory holiday Family Day, on the third Monday of […]
COMMENT: Canada’s disappeared women
This fall British Columbia’s Missing Women Commission will finally begin its work. It does so in under a cloud of suspicion: an inadequate mandate, a potentially compromised commissioner, and a refusal to financially support affected native communities, families, and Vancouver Downtown Eastside community groups to participate...
Aboriginal groups slam police and justice system
The First Nations Summit (FNS), the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), the BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN) and the Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of BC (NCCABC) today expressed shock and outrage at the RCMP beating of a 17 year old handcuffed aboriginal girl in Williams Lake and an aboriginal death in...
LETTER: Democracy wins at UBCM with regard to Smart Meters
Dear Editor,The BC Liberals' attempts to silence the growing Smart Meter controversy have failed at the Union of BC Municipalities convention with delegates voting for a province-wide moratorium. Could the heavy-handed, dictatorial edicts of Rich Coleman and the Liberals have actually prompted this clear vote for democracy,...
OP/ED: CTF pushes for municipal political hopefuls to sign contract on taxes
By: Jordan Bateman, B.C. Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation As hundreds of municipal politicians gathered in Vancouver last week for the Union of BC Municipalities conference, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released the contract with taxpayers they will be challenging B.C. candidates to sign ahead of the Nov. 19 municipal elections. “Taxpayers are stretched thin and […]
Idea of a fence along Canada-U.S. border gets tossed around
U.S. authorities have raised the possibility of putting up fencing along parts of the long, open border between Canada and the U.S., the Vancouver Province reports. The proposal is part of a draft report from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency in Washington, D.C. “Barriers would include selective fencing at selected points along the […]
Economist predicts brighter future for B.C. forests
TD is predicting a significant increase in lumber prices by 2013 – and has praised British Columbia’s government for opening up new markets to counteract the slump in the U.S. housing market. Leslie Preston, an economist at the TD banking group, stated that, “The B.C. industry and government have been very proactive in marketing wood […]
B.C.’s financial bookkeeping is ‘unacceptable,’ says auditor general
The government’s financial statements were ripped apart by a recent report by the Auditor General, the Victoria Times Colonist reports. The province is keeping books in an “unacceptable” way, the report claimed, with too few details, nor does it explain billions in spending. John Doyle produced the report on the government’s financial statements Thursday, underlining […]
BC energy policies help wealthier homeowners, hurt low-income households
A new study calls for a more fair and effective approach to residential energy efficiency in BC as part of an aggressive climate action framework. The study recommends protecting low-income households from rising electricity costs and investing in retrofits for multi-unit buildings and rental housing. “To reduce residential greenhouse gas emissions in BC we must […]
