I was privileged to attend the 41st General Council Meeting of the United Church of Canada, held in Ottawa in mid August of 2012. We dotted the “i”s and crossed the “t”s of years of work carried out by task groups and committees, congregations, and conferences. Responding to requests for assistance and change that came to us...

They failed the first time, but that hasn't deterred the B.C. government from trying yet again to put a sock in the mouths of community organizations, chambers of commerce, unions and other groups by attempting to impose tough spending restrictions on third parties which – if they get their way – would apply before an election...

A good friend of mine just had her 40th birthday. Her birthday request – for a small group of friends to go on a three-day hiking excursion up Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. The kind of adventure where you pack EVERYTHING you will need to survive in the wilderness for several days into a ginormous 30-pound backpack and...

In which the author ponders if he has wasted time chasing political and historical facts, while other things worth knowing have gone unnoticed… Travel broadens the mind. Home is where the heart is. Every person can assert, I know my own truth and I originate my reality. Ideology does not include all possible realities. Politics […]

Recent comments by Coun. Cary Fisher and Coun. Jill Spearn—regarding Brenda Trenholme's appeal to subdivide her Happy Valley property—taste like a slice of logical swiss cheese on a slab of imagination tofu. And you'll need a pinch of salt for the cracker too. Sure, sure, everyone's in favour of local agriculture. Just not ...

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”                                                           – Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day Ever wondered how much electricity you could save by turning off just one light? A column on that topic by Mike Sandiford, […]

I’ve been toying around with the idea of writing about gingerism for a while now. You know, the awesomeness of being a ginger. I’ve been a ginger my whole life, no kidding. I came into the world with a flaming red melon – none of this strawberry blonde stuff for me. And I didn’t always […]

Sometimes, when I stand in front of others and relate my journey, I begin with my family and the communities I've lived in, and I recount a partial history of the jobs I've held. Sometimes I relive relationships I've had. Once in a long while I'll tell the story of the time I was buried alive up in Pass Creek in '98. Despite...

As we approach 2014 Canada will be preparing to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.  However, at the request of the US Pentagon, the Prime Minister has opened the door to leaving behind a contingent of Canadian Special Forces beyond the NATO withdrawal date to assist with Afghan Commando training. Our Special Forces have ...

By Glyn Humphries July 2002: I became one of the outraged. Outraged, not just about cuts to health care, but also about Canada’s bedrock of democracy: accountability and democratic process. It was a dark era for democracy. In one fell swoop, bureaucrats damaged Nelson’s hospital- like officials removing children from a family, without warning or […]