The crowd spilled into City Hall’s hallways as 11 Rossland residents addressed council’s public input period on Monday to support Coun. Kathy Moore’s motion to request that BC’s new Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG) investigate the big picture of policy, procedure, and governance in Rossland that may have contributed to the Jason Ward arena […]

In this column I will continue the discussion on the creation of a Department of Peace by highlighting some of the initiatives undertaken in other countries. Over 30 countries have campaigns to create a Department of Peace.  In three countries – Nepal, the Solomon Islands and Costa Rica this is a reality. On September 14,...

Arc of the Cognizant XXI “What do you mean ‘we,’ Paleface?”  -- Tonto to the Lone Ranger By Charles Jeanes Oh, Canada. If ever there was a time for Canadians to take a prominent place in global affairs, it would seem to be now. But is the consciousness of our people up to this task? We have a very favourable ratio of population...

I am not sure if Idle No More is a movement or merely a passing protest. Like Occupy Wall Street before it, Idle No More, above all, appears to be an expression of frustration. Earlier protest actions opposed the status quo, but they did have a clear focus — civil rights, women’s rights and gay rights — visions for a new...

A Castlegar teen is protesting city policy by posting an online petition opposing the city’s “vicious dogs” licensing fee of $1,000 (as compared to as little as $35 for other dogs). To see or sign the petition, go to http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/city-council-of-the-city-of-castlegar-castlegar-lower-licensing-fee-for-innocent-pit-bulls?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_share&utm_campaign=url_share_before_sign Castlegar’s Vienna Ready, 16, is a high-school student who works part time as a cashier […]

The B.C. government likes to boast that the province's personal income tax rates are among the lowest in the land, if not the lowest. Expect to hear it repeated a lot in TV ads over the coming weeks, when the legislature reconvenes in February and when the 2013 provincial budget is tabled.   On one level they're right. On...

In this column I would like to share part of the speech I gave to those attending the “Open Forum” on a culture of peace and Department of Peace in Canada which took place in Ottawa early in November of 2012. Arms trade is big business – in 2010 total military spending in the world was around $1.6 Trillion.  According to the...

As the School District No. 20 (SD20) board approaches it’s February, 2013, decision on school closures in Rossland, council decided on Jan. 4 to inject $5000 into the Neighbourhoods of Learning Committee (NOL) prior to adopting the 2013 budget. The deadline for written public submissions to SD20’s facilities process ended on Jan. 4, but the […]

When Josh Fox received a letter offering him nearly $100,000 for the natural gas extraction rights on his Pennsylvania property, his first reaction was: nice chunk of change. Then he started wondering what was involved in the hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) process proposed.  Looking for the answer took him on a road trip...

A Calgary couple plans to build a large wharf that will bisect a popular family swimming area at Willow Point Beach on the north shore of Kootenay Lake. Jane and Mark Andreychuk occupy their recently built beachfront house as a summer holiday residence and are absent for the other ten months of the year. A […]