HEU vote for strike action
B.C. health care workers have delivered an overwhelming strike mandate to back their negotiating team’s bid to secure a fair and respectful collective agreement with health employers. Members of the 11 unions that form the Facilities Bargaining Association voted 96 per cent in favour of strike action after a month of balloting...
Premier speaks to Nanaimo shooting
Premier Christy Clark delivered the following statement in the legislature following the tragedy at Western Forest Products Mill in Nanaimo: Madam Speaker, Earlier today (April 30), a horrible tragedy took place in Nanaimo. Police were called to the Western Forest Products Mill in response to calls about a shooting. The RCMP...
Students get sick from eating pot-infused edibles
Over the past week, several high school students in North Vancouver became sick from eating pot-infused edibles. The grade ten students from two separate high schools became sick enough for one of them to be taken to the hospital while the other went home. What is becoming more common, and available to children, are food...
COMMENT: Kootenay ALC stats cast doubt on Bennett's claims
IntegrityBC has reviewed 660 applications to the Agricultural Land Commission filed in the Kootenay district, following comments from Bill Bennett, Minister Responsible for the Core Review, that the proposed changes to the Agricultural Land Reserve are the result of listening to his constituents. “Based on Bennett's claims ...
Second round voting would help achieve fair representation
The Canada Elections Act needs amending. It encourages and rewards abuse. However, I disagree with the amendments pursued by the federal government. Bill C-23 ignores the principle of equality of representation which is the problem at the root of the Canada Elections Act. In a multi-party society the first-past-the-post voting...
COMMENT: Odd, outlandish and over the top donations to B.C. political parties
So what does a Conservative party senator from Ontario, the Toronto Blue Jays, an Ontario public sector union and a part-owner of the Calgary Flames all have in common? If their chequebook is any indication, they have a keen interest in B.C. politics. Ontario Senator Nancy Ruth donated $5,000 to the B.C. Green party in 2013,...
Putin, Petrorubles and Our PM’s Bad Posture
Stephen Harper’s embarrassing behaviour regarding the crisis in Ukraine — demonizing Vladimir Putin and upping the rhetoric — must be welcomed in the U.S. which created the crisis in the first place and apparently believes it still has something to gain by isolating Russia. But it is not clear that Harper even realizes — or...
35-yr-old Dutch national facing at least five charges in connection with suicide of BC's Amanda Todd
In a live press conference Thursday, Coquitlam RCMP confirmed what Dutch media had already reported: that a 35-year-old man has been charged in connection with the abuse, bullying and victimization that ultimately led to the suicide of 15-year-old BC resident Amanda Todd. According to Dutch media reports, the man is facing ...
CAMRA calls for better beer legislation
Despite the growing popularity of craft beer in British Columbia, many consumers are still being left in the dark when it comes to knowing exactly what’s in their glass and a local consumer advocacy group is asking them to make a fuss about it. A letter was sent earlier this morning by the Campaign for Real Ale Society of ...
COMMENT: Who's afraid of a little debate?
“Today's BC Liberals” may have taken a little inspiration during last year's election campaign from former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell when she bluntly stated in 1993 that "an election is no time to discuss serious issues." It's why British Columbians could be forgiven for thinking that they missed something during...