In this coldest time of the year, we often think of the people in our area who are homeless.  Some have ended up on the streets and in rough camps because of mental health issues, addictions, or a combination of the two.  Some are children fleeing abusive parents or women fleeing abusive spouses; others have become disabled. ...

Local MLA Katrine Conroy is reminding everyone in the West Kootenays that the deadline to register and vote in the referendum on electoral reform is fast approaching. “People in the West Kootenays are excited for a new way of voting that works for all of us,” said Conroy. “With the end of this referendum period […]

So far, most of the discussion about Proportional Representation (PR) has focused on fairness. Without a proportional voting system, there’s no way to make every vote count equally. But there are other reasons to adopt it, arguably as valid: it would bring social and financial stability and cut waste. In elections using...

This week the House of Commons passed Bill C-76, the Elections Modernization Act, the federal government’s answer to the so-called “Fair Elections Act” that the Conservatives enacted in 2014.  And although I and the rest of the NDP caucus voted in favour of the bill, I would say this bill is “a day late and a dollar short.”...

Japanese Knotweed is among the most feared invasive weeds, because of its effects on real estate values, taxes and infrastructure; it is unfortunately able to damage all three – it damages property values merely by being there, raises taxes by increasing municipal costs, and damages infrastructure by invading foundations,...

To The Editor:   Would you vote for a party list without candidates? Of course, you wouldn't, and neither would anybody else. Of course, we will keep local representation under pro rep, and of course nobody will be 'appointed' an MLA unless we vote for them. How dumb do Liberal Party bosses think BC voters are that we would...

"This is the scariest thing about the IPCC Report — it’s the watered down, consensus version." By Jon Queally, Staff Writer, Common Dreams If the latest warnings contained in Monday's report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—which included pronouncements that the world has less than twelve years to...

After months of negotiations and a seemingly endless series of false deadlines, negotiators have hammered out a new trade agreement between Canada, the USA and Mexico.  The new agreement (called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA for short) will create winners and losers, of course, and the general consensus...

The BC Court of Appeal has granted an interlocutory injunction against a drilling permit within the sacred sites of Teẑtan Biny (Fish Lake) and surrounding areas. On August 23, 2018, the B.C. Supreme Court upheld a permit authorizing Taseko Mines Limited (TML) to undertake an extensive drilling program at Teẑtan Biny and ...

Have you moved or changed your name since the last election?  Are you a registered voter for BC? The BC government wants to make sure that everyone who is eligible can vote in the October – November referendum on electoral reform, and urges everyone to either register, or make sure their voter information is up-to-date. Chief...