I recently had the opportunity to attend a conference in Nanaimo sponsored by the Council of Canadians.  Maude Barlow and others in this social justice organization have been in the forefront when it comes to dealing with issues that threaten the very fabric of our nation. It was very encouraging to see the strong involvement...

The first phase of the Kettle River watershed management report is complete and is being rolled out to the public. Grand Forks city council received a presentation from the project co-ordinator Graham Watt to update them on the study, key focus areas and next steps at their meeting Monday, Dec. 17. The Regional District of […]

Hackers claiming to be associated with the internet activist group Anonymous have attacked the website belonging to the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) and hacked into the Twitter account belonging to Shirley Phelps-Roper, the Church's spokeswoman. The attacks are part of an operation dubbed '#OpWestBor' on Twitter and is in ...

Castlegar’s own Holly Smee is stunned and delighted to have garnered the support of more than 10,000 people just days after launching a Facebook campaign in response to recent tragedy. Smee, a 34-year-old mental health worker, said she got the idea on the same morning that a school shooting spree took the lives of 20 […]

Wally Oppal’s long awaited report commissioned in the wake of the conviction of serial killer Robert Pickton holds a surprise. Something had gone tragically wrong with law enforcement. How else could one individual have murdered dozens of women in one location over more than a decade without being caught? That Oppal’s report...

Canada is blessed. God has given us so many things that other countries want. And it’s all just there for the taking. Above the ground we have trees galore, waiting to be chopped down, water waiting to be piped to California. In the ground we’ve got gold and silver, copper and iron, uranium and asbestos. The list is almost ...

  On Dec. 14, Washington judge found Teck Resources liable for response costs for any environmental or health risks resulting from almost a century’s worth (between 1896 and 1995) of discharges into the Upper Columbia River in Washington State. Judge Lonny Suko said, in his ruling, that, “for decades, Teck’s leadership knew its slag and […]

Following the city’s overzealous and incorrect use of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FIPPA) to withhold letters that are clearly in the public’s interest and do not “unfairly” harm anyone’s reputation, I am left wondering what, exactly, remains in the five redacted lines in Coun. Kathy Moore’s letter...

by Suzy Hamilton, The Nelson Daily It’s not exactly a boom, but it’s better than last year. As of November, building permits in the Regional District of Central Kootenay have exceeded 2011 totals by nearly nine per cent. Last year, 772 building permits were issued and as of November 30, 835 building permits have been […]

As part of its annual general meeting, the Canadian Department of Peace Initiative held the last of its public consultations on the creation of a Department of Peace. The meeting which took place at St. Paul University in Ottawa featured a panel of five commissioners and interventions from the public.  (It was especially...