February, dominated by Canada’s performance in the Winter Olympics, was a busy news month. However, the second half of February featured two other news stories on the subject of a performance we ought not overlook: the federal and provincial budgets. Although these budgets will guide our performance as a society, their press...

This February, we recognize Heart Month, an important time to learn more about heart health. Cardiovascular disease is a common term used for a number of medical conditions that affect the heart and/or blood vessels. Coronary heart disease, heart failure, hardening of the arteries and irregular heartbeat are all examples of...

The conservative movement in the US and Canada is maintained by the CIA and a legion of “think tanks” mainly funded by the oil industry.[1] To their purposes, they support the myth of a “communist” conspiracy in order to wage war on the poor, to eliminate obstacles to the further accumulation of wealth by the rich. Communism,...

Halifax or Vancouver? Ask most folk which city boasts the higher median family income and chances are they'll say Vancouver. They couldn't be more wrong. The median income for a two-parent family living in Halifax was $87,430 in 2011. Vancouver wasn't even close at $74,510. In fact, family incomes were higher in St. John's,...

Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power. Benito Mussolini With the announcement by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) of formal complaints against the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for illegally spying on environmental groups...

As B.C. MLAs prepare to return to the legislature tomorrow, IntegrityBC is today launching an online consultation on electoral and democratic reform. It's the first in a series of consultations that the organization plans as part of its Reimagine B.C. campaign. Reimagine B.C. is a chance for British Columbians to work online...

On Feb. 5th the Canadian government signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States to govern The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).  FATCA is an American tax law requiring all Canadian financial institutions to provide the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with account information on customers...

Dear editor: In regard to your latest rant : Where are all the grownups looking after our health care? I believe the City if Castlegar did the right thing. We entered into this regional information gathering because someone had to get the ball rolling. We knew, of course, that there would be opposition, but that is no reason...

Dear editor, I am appalled by the jailing and the subsequent death in custody of CBSA in Vancouver, of Lucia Vega Jimenez - a 42 year old Mexican woman working to save money to care for her ailing mother. Days before Christmas, she was jailed for not having bus-fare and not having immigration papers!!  While alone in CBSA...

Since 2005, Eileen Delehanty Pearkes has researched and explored the natural and human history of the rivers of the upper Columbia River Basin.  She speaks frequently at conferences and symposia throughout the Basin on the history of the Columbia River Treaty and its effects on Basin residents.  She has recently completed a manuscript titled A […]