Mene. Mene. Tekel. Upharsin.
The words that title my piece are biblical and mean, roughly, “number, number, weight, division.” They are apt to this moment. I believe that numbers, judgment, and a state of feeling divided, are clues to our malaise as Canadians right now. To say that Stephen Harper divides Canadians like no other prime minister before him...
Shadrack Elected President of Regional Municipal Association
Andy Shadrack was recently named President of the Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments (AKBLG). He is in his third term as the representative of Area D in the Regional District of Central Kootenay. The AKBLG is composed of municipalities and electoral areas of southeastern British Columbia. It is a regional affiliate of the […]
Taylor puts marijuana back on the table at city council
A challenge to step up leadership was given to Grand Forks city council when mayor Brian Taylor asked them to join the campaign to end the prohibition of marijuana in Canada. Taylor wants council to join in with the other B.C. municipalities, now over 13 of a possible 160 and growing, in the Stop the Violence campaign. The ...
SYRIA: Arm the rebels
This was published at Foreign Policy. There are some, perhaps many, Syrians who detest their government and are entirely aware of its treasonous nature — yet wish for the demonstrations and the guerrilla actions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to stop and for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to regain control as soon as...
LESOTHO: Peaceful elections in an African nation you've probably never heard of
Lesotho held peaceful parliamentary elections on Sunday. The ruling Democratic Congress of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili won most votes but fell short of the required majority. Lesotho opposition parties have formed a coalition in order to form government. Why is Western mainstream media not telling you about Lesotho's ...
What is to be done when 'Harper is us'?
There is one basic, foundational ground on which all politics in Canada must find traction, or not have any effect. This is it. Less than 15% of the people are "political" as part of their daily thinking and activity. They are the few to whom the actions of politicians, and their words and opinions, matter. The rest are not...
Injured but motivated Basso does marathon across the Boundary
After completing a four day cross constituency marathon New Democratic Party candidate Marji Basso stepped out at a fundraising reception in Grand Forks alongside party leader Adrian Dix. Plagued by a calf muscle injury, Basso completed the marathon-level tour in what Grand Forks mayor Brian Taylor called “good old fashioned...
Date set for BC Family Day in February
Ed. Note: The following is a press release issued by the government of B.C. Premier Christy Clark, along with Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government were joined by local families at the Vancouver Aquarium today to announce that B.C.'s Family Day will take place on the second Monday in...
East Kootenay Regional District May Try to Take Back Jumbo Decision-Making
One member of the board of the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) will try to convince his board on June 8 to reverse a controversial 3–year-old decision about the Jumbo Glacier real estate development. The RDEK was faced in 2009 with the prospect of having to hold public hearings as part of a […]
OP/ED: MP slams Tory cuts to Community Access Program funding
Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko added his voice today to the growing calls from his constituents demanding that the Conservative government reverse the cuts to the Community Access Program (CAP) hidden in the federal omnibus Budget Bill C-38 that will affect rural and low-income Canadians. “CAP used to have more service...
