From the Hill: The importance of pensions
The New Year is a time to look ahead and plan for the future. My wife and I have been talking about pensions lately. She’s debating whether to start her Canada Pension Plan payments. We were self-employed for much of our careers, so she doesn’t have a company pension to draw on, but we have tried to build up our RRSPs over...
OUT OF LEFT FIELD: One of the most important ways to manage tragedy
It makes me very sad to be having to write this again, and that we once more find ourselves coping with a horrific couple of months in our region – motor vehicle fatalities and injuries, fires, unexpected deaths, community icons lost. I think the knee-jerk reaction of most good people is to want to do something, to help in ...
Opinion: BC Hydro asking for a loan? Overheard by a fly on the wall
Loans Officer (LO): So you'd like to borrow $10.7 billion? BC Hydro (BCH): Yes sir. It's for a hydro-electric dam. LO: Well that's a lot of green for green energy. How exactly did you arrive at that cost? BCH: Happy to report we went to the same team that came up with the $1.5 billion estimate for the Port Mann bridge....
Column: From the Hill
Earlier this month I helped out at the Salvation Army Christmas hamper distribution event. It felt good to play a small part in making hundreds of people have a happier Christmas—healthy food, toys for the kids. It was especially nice to see boxes of local fruits and vegetables on their way to homes that have a tough time...
Op/Ed: Year in Review, by our MLA Katrine Conroy
Despite the many rewarding experiences of recent months, I’m grateful to come home for Christmas to the Kootenays and my family. It has been an eventful year in B.C. politics with the election in May resulting in a new NDP government under Premier John Horgan. We promised to make life more affordable, to improve the services...
Editorial Rant: Are we stupid, or what?
We have more fatal crashes than any other region. Are more drivers in the Southern Interior region of BC notably more stupid than drivers elsewhere in BC? Do so many of us here just not have a clue about winter driving? Or are we so much unhealthier that we have that many more medical crises causing car crashes? The statistics...
Board chair pens Interior Health year in review
As 2018 approaches, it is a great opportunity to reflect on the past year. On behalf of Interior Health, it is my pleasure to recap some highlights. Of course the biggest story of 2017 was the wildfires that tore across several communities. In total 19 hospitals, health centres and residential care homes were evacuated. Close...
Editorial Rant: What are we celebrating? And how do we behave?
A plea for civility in the law, politics and our everyday lives Mid-winter is approaching, with our various seasonal celebrations: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and maybe even Festivus? We celebrate our religious and / or ethnic affiliations; we celebrate the return of the sun for longer periods of time each...
From The Hill: Fix the Phoenix payroll system
Recently, the Auditor General of Canada released a report that addressed the Phoenix payroll that has seriously affected the lives of thousands of civil servants across this country. More than half of the public service sector is caught up in this -- many are being paid well below their proper salaries, some are not being...
MP: Liberals adopt NDP 'Species At Risk' proposal
Today the Liberal government announced that they have adopted an NDP proposal to close a loophole in the Species at Risk Act. In September 2017, Richard Cannings, MP (South Okanagan – West Kootenay) introduced Bill C-363, An Act to amend the Species at Risk Act (amendment of the List) in the House of Commons which proposed ...
