LETTER: Government buy out not enough
To the Editor;While paying Boss Power resolves a lot of problems,it is a very sad state of affairs and I can only hope that the both the government of B.C. and the federal government will learn from this so that all is not lost. My comments in this regard are:1. No government should ever convey the rights to their natural...
Occupy Surrey: George W. Bush met by War Criminal Welcoming Committee
On October 20th, former U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were invited by Mayor Diane Watts, the Surrey Board of Trade and Surrey City Council to speak at the Surrey Regional Economic Summit. Each former President was given $150,000 for their appearance, while the attendees paid an astonishing $599 each to...
COMMENT: The costs of being aboriginal in BC
Being First Nations in BC comes at too high a price. We all know the statistics: dismal success at (white) school; endemic poverty on and off reserve; half the prison population despite being only three percent of the Canadian population; high incidence of sexual abuse; the too high a percentage of children in care; high...
COMMENT: Hope, anger, courage: Day One of Occupy Vancouver
A global call was put out for a day of action on October 15th, 2011. Inspired by the swelling movement at “Occupy Wall Street” and hundreds of similar protests around the world, Vancouver residents answered the beckon. This morning marked the inception of Vancouver’s Occupy Movement with thousands converging at the Vancouver...
ANALYSIS: What is the Keystone XL Pipeline — and why is it so controversial?
By Lois Beckett in ProPublica.By the end of this year, the State Department will decide whether to give a Canadian company permission to construct a 1,700-mile, $7 billion pipeline that would transport crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas. The project has sparked major environmental concerns, particularly in Nebraska,...
COMMENT: Time of use billing has always been the plan for Smart Meters
A confidential report on BC Hydro Smart Meter Business Case by Horizon Technologies Inc. states that "BC Hydro will maintain the same rate structures when Smart Meters are first put in, and implement new rate structures afterwards; so that Smart Meters aren't blamed for higher rates."Read the full confidential report here.Rich...
Film screener gives primer and precursor to Occupy Nelson this Saturday
How did we get into this mess? SelfDesign High BYOP Film Series presents Inside Job screening and fundraiser in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The film Inside Job explains in detail the series of events that led up to the global financial crisis of 2008, which cost over $20 trillion dollars, and caused millions...
Kootenay Region team receives national Cancer Society award
A team of diverse partners in the Kootenay region taking action to reduce the cosmetic use of pesticides has been recognized with a prestigious national award from the Canadian Cancer Society. The award, called the Circle of Distinction, recognizes team effort between Canadian Cancer Society volunteers and staff and their ...
The 'Ethical Oil' bait-and-switch
In the ongoing campaign to put a positive spin on Alberta’s Tar Sands, proponents have deployed a new rhetorical attack: women’s rights. If you support women’s rights, say conservative pundits Ezra Levant and Alykhan Velshi, choose “ethical oil” over “conflict oil”. The phrase is now standard prose for the Harper government,...
Aboriginal groups slam police and justice system
The First Nations Summit (FNS), the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), the BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN) and the Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of BC (NCCABC) today expressed shock and outrage at the RCMP beating of a 17 year old handcuffed aboriginal girl in Williams Lake and an aboriginal death in...
