Our federal government is negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union (CETA).  This is an all encompassing agreement that covers labour standards, the environment and the ability of provincial and local governments to conduct business. Unfortunately, the negotiations are taking place behind closed doors – so CETA is not on most people’s radar. […]

The recent reports stating that ISA has been found in B.C. salmon have not yet been verified by federal officials through established processes. After initial investigations, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is concerned proper protocols may not have been followed in the testing and reporting of these findings. CFIA and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are […]

“The unbroken violation of nature in Canada, the economy founded on the trapping and mutilating of animals, the destroying of trees, the drying up of rivers and the polluting of lakes, began inspiring guilt and uneasiness long before the contemporary ecology movement.” – Northrop Frye, National Consciousness in Canadian Culture   Infinite growth on a […]

On October 20th, former U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were invited by Mayor Diane Watts, the Surrey Board of Trade and Surrey City Council to speak at the Surrey Regional Economic Summit.  Each former President was given $150,000 for their appearance, while the attendees paid an astonishing $599 each to...

Boss Power Corp. surrendered its uranium exploration and mining rights to the Province of B.C. for $30 million this week.  The negotiated settlement comes after Boss Power launched a law suit in 2009 after the province announced a prohibition against uranium exploration and development in 2008. The agreement gives the Crown the mineral rights to […]

Being First Nations in BC comes at too high a price. We all know the statistics: dismal success at (white) school; endemic poverty on and off reserve; half the prison population despite being only three percent of the Canadian population; high incidence of sexual abuse; the too high a percentage of children in care; high...

A global call was put out for a day of action on October 15th, 2011.  Inspired by the swelling movement at “Occupy Wall Street” and hundreds of similar protests around the world, Vancouver residents answered the beckon.  This morning marked the inception of Vancouver’s Occupy Movement with thousands converging at the Vancouver...

By Lois Beckett in ProPublica.By the end of this year, the State Department will decide whether to give a Canadian company permission to construct a 1,700-mile, $7 billion pipeline that would transport crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.  The project has sparked major environmental concerns, particularly in Nebraska,...

A confidential report on BC Hydro Smart Meter Business Case by Horizon Technologies Inc. states that "BC Hydro will maintain the same rate structures when Smart Meters are first put in, and implement new rate structures afterwards; so that Smart Meters aren't blamed for higher rates."Read the full confidential report here.Rich...

By ClickGreen An international team of scientists has proposed a five-point plan for feeding the world while protecting the planet. The research concludes that “feeding the nine billion people anticipated to live on Earth in 2050 without exhausting the Earth’s natural resources is possible, provided that we adopt a more sustainable food production approach.” The […]