OP/ED: MP speaks to Bill C-51
There has been a great deal in the news over the past few weeks about C-51, the government’s news Anti-Terrorism Act. It is another one in a series of omnibus bills and contains 62 pages covering everything from expanding the mandate of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to allowing police to seize terrorist...
Letter: Paying It Forward For The Environment
Editor: Canada – a powerful word that until recently brought with it images of world-class wilderness, functioning ecosystems, serious concern for climate change and a belief in a healthy economy AND a healthy environment. Where are we today? Here are just a few headlines from the last three years under Prime Minister Harper...
OPINION: Wildlife habitat losing every fight with forestry and agriculture
(Hon. Steve Thompson) The purpose of this newsletter is to give you facts that with few exceptions can be corroborated that illustrate why nothing less than a complete overhaul of the management of our wildlife and wildlife habitat resource can reverse the dramatic decline in many wildlife populations and the steady compromise...
Letter to Minister Thompson
(Hon. Steve Thompson) Once again Minister Thomson I urge you to review an extremely weak argument that has resulted in the Gilpin Grasslands becoming an important motorized vehicle recreation area. None of the salient points in a letter dated Dec. 30, 2014 and signed by Assistant Deputy Minister Gary Townsend will stand up...
MP: Importance of testing for and reducing radon levels in homes and workplaces
As many may already be aware, the Kootenays have a combination of geology and gas permeable soils that make homes and workplaces susceptible to high concentrations of radioactive radon. It surprised me to learn that the radiation from radioactive radon gas found in homes and workplaces is estimated to cause 16 percent of the...
Comment: B.C. budget pushes dream of white picket fence further out of reach
Government policies are normally designed to help citizens as they try to move up the economic ladder, not penalize them for trying. And on that one count alone, this week's budget from Finance minister Mike de Jong is an abject failure. In its budget highlights, the B.C. government presented four scenarios to bolster its...
Why New Democrats Voted Against Conservative Agriculture Bill
The Conservative government accuses MPs who voted against their new “Agriculture Growth Act” as having no understanding of farming. However, this claim does not jibe at all with the farmers that I have spoken to who seem to think otherwise. The omnibus bill C-18 makes changes to nine different pieces of legislation in which...
MP promotes affordable child care plan
NDP leader Tom Mulcair has recently launched a plan for affordable childcare in Canada. It is no secret that Quebec has the most affordable childcare in the country, and Tom, as a former Quebec cabinet minister, witnessed the success affordable childcare played in helping families and boosting the economy of the province. ...
OUT OF LEFT FIELD: Cop-bashing an abuse of free speech
Ninety-nine per cent of the time, I’m incredibly proud of the Source, including our interactions on social media. We’ve used Facebook and Twitter to disseminate important public information, to reunite lost pets with their people, even to help find a missing child. Sadly, though, right now, I’m both embarrassed and ashamed by what is happening […]
LETTER: Open Letter to Grand Forks Mayor Frank Konrad and GF City Council
To Mayor and Council of the City of Grand Forks, I write you today as a concerned citizen of this amazing City. I am compelled to write to you about some concerns I and many other citizens have arising from the Regular City Council meeting this past Monday January 12th, 2015. I was unable to attend the meeting in person but...