In watching the live streaming coverage of the Egyptian revolution on Aljazeera I am awe-struck by the incredible humanity of what is unfolding in that country. I imagine Jean Jacques Rousseau wandering amongst the throngs of people and being equally amazed and delighted. For the character of this uprising, this outpouring of frustration and joy, of kindness […]

With all the attention focused on the BC Liberals and NDP leadership races, you may not have noticed: the next federal election campaign is already under way.   The vote will take place in late April/early May. The first visible sign were those negative TV ads launched by the federal Tories a couple of weeks […]

By BC Federation of Labour Job numbers released Friday by Statistics Canada show British Columbia continues to lose jobs. BC lost 9,100 jobs in January and was the only province to see significant job losses. Most other provinces showed job gains, including Ontario which created 36,300 jobs in January, and Alberta which saw job numbers […]

The focus of politics has shifted over the past two to three decades from issues to personalities. Media reports refer to Conservative or Liberal governments or to Harper or Campbell governments, as if federal and provincial governments were owned by political parties or their leaders. Such references are indications that our parliamentary democracies have become […]

A new report produced by the Ministry of Children and Family Development offers insight into the challenges, goals and key priorities of B.C. families – and how they have changed over the past few decades.  Titled Family Roots, the report is the Province’s first step in establishing a baseline of government programs and services for […]

The photographs are as stunning as they are inspiring. The world is now totally focused on the democratic rebellion in Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak, the dictator who Israel relies on for its current unassailable position, sends out the army to deal with demonstrators and what happens? The soldiers, including officers, joined with them, hugging them, kissing […]

This one should make you laugh, shake your head or maybe even cry.  It shows perfectly why so many Canadians don’t trust our politicians or our media. On Wednesday, the Toronto Sun carried a story headlined “Feds shouldn’t foot bill for NHL-calibre arena:Iggy” The piece revolved around Quebec City’s dream of  building a $400 million arena and […]

I don’t think I have ever re-cycled a column before but the whole question of tax cuts and all the issues it involves never really changes. In November, 2007, I wrote a column for the Tyee and rabble focusing on Conservative finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s five year tax cut plan. This up-coming cut to corporate […]

Developing literacy skills begins at home. Whether it’s a book, board game, magazine, newspaper or website, all British Columbians are being encouraged to take part in a literacy activity with their families for 15 minutes at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 27 to celebrate Family Literacy Day. Today and throughout this week, events celebrating literacy […]

Pump prices played a big role in putting annual inflation at 2.4 per cent in December, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. That’s higher than the two per cent rate recorded in the last two months. Higher gasoline prices were cited as the main reason for the growth in inflation last month — they were up 13 […]