The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia has withdrawn its rate-restructuring proposal to raise insurance rates of drivers who get a speeding ticket or other moving violations. The move followed a meeting Monday with the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Shirley Bond, who stated that ICBC has been instructed to ensure it applies a […]

The financial piper will be paid by Trail’s Teck Metals Inc. for two chemical spills into local waterways the company was found at fault for in 2010. Teck will pay $325,000 for depositing mercury into the Columbia River, and allowing a leachate to overflow into Stoney Creek. In consultation with Teck, a decision was made […]

Gas prices in Canada are soaring even though the price of oil is well below recent highs.  In order to help Canadians know what they should be paying for gas, the CCPA  developed an online gasoline price gouge meter using calculations by Hugh Mackenzie, based on his 2007 analysis, Gas Price Gouge: The Sequel. According to Hugh’s […]

Money is always a concern for West Kootenay businesses. A new survey is expected to examine whether enterprises and organizations in the West Kootenay are able to borrow or access the money they need to operate and grow their businesses and services. Arising out of the recently developed Columbia Basin Trust’s Economic Initiatives Strategic Plan, […]

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today released its calculations of estimated pension and severance payments paid to the 113 MPs who were either defeated or did not seek re-election in the May 2, 2011 general election. Defeated and retiring MPs will collect $4.9 million in pension payments in their first year, reaching a cumulative total […]

  Selkirk’s Business Administration students squared off against one another at the college’s sixth annual Business Competition held at its Castlegar campus at the end of the term.    First-year students competed for the best marketing campaign, while second-year students strove for best business case analysis. Working in teams, students prepared campaigns and business solutions […]

With the West Kootenay having become fertile soil for many innovative food system initiatives, another project is now underway which hopes to build the capacity within the West Kootenay to form a regional food system organization. Often referred to as ‘food councils,’ ’roundtables,’ ‘networks’ or ‘coalitions,’ hundreds of these types of regional organizations do already […]

Nelson, Castlegar and the Kootenay region will be part of the province-wide call for suggestions on how the HST can be improved when a “tele-town hall” takes place this Thursday. Running for one hour starting at 6:30 p.m., Minister of Finance Kevin Falcon and Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom will engage the West […]

Forget hope that the BC Hydro rate increase would be overturned, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) recently approved an interim rate increase of eight per cent, effective May 1. For the average residential BC Hydro customer, this would amount to a bill increase of about $6 per month, albeit until the final decision comes […]

Castlegar homeowners may be happy to hear that, although tax rates have increased, the average homeowner will actually be paying less this year, according to a report received by council at its regular meeting last Monday.   Director of financial services Andre Buss told council that, although tax rates have increased for residential rate payers, […]