Has Big Oil Hijacked democracy?
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...
COMMENT: FATCA
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...
Sinixt Nation provides update on Mount Sentinel blockade
Open letter from Sinixt Nation re: Mt. Sentinel Update: Lim Limt to all the supporters and allies that came and visited us at Mt. Sentinel. Lim Limt again for the donations of food, coffee, firewood and money. And above all, Lim Limt to all the stories and laughs shared around the fire. The Sinixt Nation has placed a combo ...
Councillor responds to editorial criticism re: acute health care
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...
Council/RDCK commit $20,000 to doctor recruitment strategy
The City of Castlegar and the RDCK (Areas I and J) are each throwing $10,000 into a kitty to begin proactively recruiting doctors to the area, according to city councillor Florio Vassilakakis. Vassilakakis said an ad hoc group of doctors and residents set up a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, Castlegar mayor and council,...
Atamanenko takes horse slaughter issue to House of Commons
BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko will soon have his turn to debate one of his private members bill in the House of Commons. “I have just notified the House of Commons that I will be moving forward with my newly introduced Bill C-571 which will impose certain limits on the horse slaughter industry,” said Atamanenko....
COMMENT: Where are all the grown-ups overseeing our health care?
I'd like to paint a picture for you, explaining why, in my opinion, this region enjoys sub-par health services: Imagine, if you would, that you're the BC Minister of Health. You oversee five health authorities, with 16 health services delivery areas under them, all of them clamouring for a finite pool of funding and resources....
Broadband in Castlegar explained
This is the first of a four-part series that will describe what broadband is, what the potential is for rural communities as well as how and why Castlegar is exploring options around the development of high speed fibre optics broadband. Part One: The Columbia Basin Trust, the Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation (CBBC) and...
Trail says 'no' to Castlegar-funded examination of acute health care priorities in the region
Trail has chosen to opt out of a process initiated by the City of Castlegar to create a region-wide strategic plan for health care in the region. Castlegar contracted, at the cost of about $20,000, the services of consultant Jim Gustafson (formerly the CAO of the RDCK and, before that, Castlegar) to gather information from ...
Local MLAs to host BC finance critic in tri-city visit
In preparation for the upcoming provincial budget, opposition Finance Critic Mike Farnworth will be visiting the Kootenays, meeting with local governments, industry leaders and small business owners on Feb. 6 and 7. Farnworth, the MLA for Port Coquitlam, has held the post of Finance critic since 2011, and will be responsible...