Letter: UBCIC Calls on the Government of BC to uphold Tsilhqot’in Rights and protect Teẑtan Biny and Yanah Biny
Dated: July 29, 2019: For over two decades the Tsilhqot’in have battled to keep Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) from destroying Teẑtan Biny and Yanah Biny with TML’s plan to create an open pit mine on a place of profound cultural and spiritual significance. Both TML and TNG have filed injunctions in B.C. Supreme Court and are in...
Column: From the Hill -- Oil, Pipelines, Jobs and the Climate Crisis
The conversation around pipelines and oil sands in Canada has been so heated and polarized it’s difficult to sort hype from fact. It’s often hard to have an informed conversation about the issue, let alone an informed debate. On the one side we have people who are deeply concerned about the climate emergency facing us. It...
OBIT: A woman so funny she named herself my Stepmonster
Betty was very quick of wit, usually quite agreeable and very funny. She was gentle, accepting, and supportive and she rarely took crap from anyone. She always had a ready response. Her kindness and generosity of spirit usually stopped her from giving voice to unkind sentiments. She could always see the positive side of...
From the Leg — Consider Going Electric
We have seen a lot in the media lately relating to the Climate Change targets for 2040 and the move to zero-emission vehicles. There are many “experts” that have been consulted about the realities of actually electrifying our transportation system in North America so I thought I would share one of those from the Manhattan...
From the Hill: How the Canadian Senate operates (and kills bills)
Last week, the Canadian Senate killed all private members’ bills before them—29 bills, including my bill advocating for the use of wood in federal government infrastructure. This was achieved by a very small group of Conservative Senators who wanted to block the passage of my colleague Romeo Saganash’s bill on the UN Declaration...
KCTU: An Open Letter to Minister Conroy: Taking Away Services From Kids Is Not Equity
For audio, click here Dear Minister Conroy, After 16 years of a government that constantly picked fights with teachers and underfunded public schools, many in BC’s education sector felt relief when your government was elected. Teachers heard MLAs like you congratulate us on our Supreme Court win and back us up on our fight ...
From The Leg — Be Alert Around Playgrounds
This has been a spring that has been painfully slow but the blossoms are starting to pop which is always a good sign. And, of course, it will be summer and extremely hot before we can blink. For all of us in the South Okanagan we can celebrate the opening of the David Kempe Tower at the Penticton Regional Hospital that everyone...
LETTER: We need to take action on Castlegar homelessness
Dear Editor, I would like to open the conversation up on homelessness in our area. We have people who are needing help and understanding. In fact, many of them are people who have grown up here who have just hit a rough patch. Some have never had a run-in with the law and others who are simply poor, which is not a crime. Yes,...
Column: From the Hill -- Invasive Species Action Inadequate
Lost in the recent media frenzy over the SNC Lavalin scandal were the 2019 Spring Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. These last reports from Julie Gelfand before her retirement focused on protection of fish and their habitat from mining effluent, subsidies to the fossil fuels industry...
From The Leg — Crossing fingers no spring floods
A happy spring that is free from floods is what I’m sure we are all hoping for. Conditions are different this year as the snowpack is a bit below normal and a lot of rain is not in the forecast. The melt will be quite rapid with our rising temperatures and the ground is still quite frozen in places so there will be surface ...
