The bees' needs
When the final tally is done on humanity’s many post-Industrial Revolution screw ups, it is likely that the top of the list will be: They let the bees die. Consider this: According to a 2010 UN Environmental Programme report, some 100 crop species provide 90% of food worldwide. Nearly three quarters of these crops depend for...
Court decision keeps health care intact
The B.C. Supreme Court today told the BC Anesthesiologists’ Society its members cannot withdraw services from B.C. hospitals, at least not until after the judge rules on Apr. 20 on an injunction request from health authorities. The decision means no elective procedures or surgeries will be postponed as previously expected, ...
LETTER: Forests under threat
Dear Editor, When the movie Avatar made its debut, it caught the hearts of people everywhere as they empathized with the Navi, a people whose world and way of life was threatened by the intrusion of a huge profit-focused corporation. What most fail to realize is the very same thing is happening right now - here in the real ...
Hundreds rally against Endbridge Oil
On a soggy Monday afternoon, hundreds of people rallied against the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline from the tar sands in Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The protest was lead by the Heiltsuk people, whom proudly describe themselves as the care takers of their territorial lands and waters, in the Great Bear...
COMMENT: So who really runs city hall?
They should have landed with a thud. But instead last week's financial filings by hundreds of candidates in B.C.'s 2011 municipal elections were met with matter-of-fact reporting or shrugs of indifference. Yet, the tale they told couldn't have been sung better by Liza Minelli and Joel Grey in Cabaret if they had tried: “money...
NDP Leadership: Who is BEST for BC?
This weekend, the federal NDP will not only choose a new leader, but determine whether the party descends further as a parochial servant of Quebec or re-establishes itself as a true national party. NDP supporters won’t like it, but the truth is that, in the push for power, former leader Jack Layton and the NDP party sold out […]
Province, RCMP ink 20-year deal as two sides opt for labour peace
It wasn’t that long ago when the B.C. government was going to toss the RCMP out like yesterday’s laundry. Wednesday, the two sides put aside any bad feelings before inking a 20-year agreement, which is essentially identical to contracts reached in five other provinces and three territories, and comes a year after B.C. threatened to […]
The economic costs of salmon farms, oil pipelines and natural gas are just as horrific as their environmental ones
Whether or not salmon farms continue operating in BC's marine waters may depend more on economic than environmental factors. Despite withering criticism concerning the ecological safety of its open net-pen operations, the salmon farming industry has doggedly continued on its corporate course. However, two unforeseen factors...
B.C. Government decides tanning not suitable for people under the age of 18, bans tanning beds
The Province announced that it will ban commercial tanning bed use by young people under the age of 18 to reduce the chances of developing skin cancer later in life. “Unfortunately, cancer affects thousands of British Columbian families with one in three people expected to develop some form of cancer – such as skin cancer […]
BC Greens want government to change its tactics with BCTF
It's time for the Liberal government to try new ideas in attempting to solve the current strife with the B.C. Teachers Federation, and not a new idea like Bill 22, says the Green Party of B.C. Bill 22 and the current BCTF strike action represent an impossible solution to the goal of delivering the best possible public education...
