Canada’s personal income tax turns 100
After 100 years of taxing Canadians, the personal income tax, which began as a small wartime revenue generator, has morphed into a costly, complex behemoth that’s difficult to administer and makes Canada very uncompetitive, finds a new collection of essays by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public...
LETTER: Canadian Federation of Students sues Selkirk College students
Students at Selkirk College have become embroiled in a legal battle for the right to vote about their membership in a national student group, according to Selkirk College Students’ Union Director at-Large Santanna Hernandez. “Students submitted a valid petition for a referendum on membership in the Canadian Federation of...
Katrine Conroy campaign office kickoff signals start of 2017 Provincial Election in Kootenay West
While it still may not look very much like it in some corners, winter is releasing its grip on the West Kootenay. Snowfalls turning to rain showers, songbirds returning to the trees, and creeks swollen with runoff signal the return of spring to the region. And, along with the seasonal turns, every four years also brings with...
COLUMN: From the Hill -- Why RCMP Morale is Declining
Over the past month I have visited most of the RCMP detachments in South Okanagan-West Kootenay. While the conversations covered some of the obvious law and order issues such as marijuana legalization, rising levels of property crime and staffing levels for highway patrol, I was surprised that one issue dominated most of my...
COLUMN: From the Hill -- 2017 Budget Comments
As I discussed in my last column, the federal government had an opportunity in last week’s budget to finally start closing the growing income inequality gap in Canada. But, unfortunately the Liberals chose tax breaks for wealthy Canadians and giveaways to large corporations over helping the unemployed, veterans, and Indigenous...
Letter: More funding not always the answer
To The Editor: More funding might help our seniors if they are in a publicly owned facility. A few more staff and maybe an extra therapist. But history shows that more funding has not improved the quality of care in "for profit" or even "non-profit" facilities. The taxpayers shelled out more money in 2010 when the client rate...
Wanted: more walk, less talk in today’s federal budget
The federal government missed a key opportunity to walk the walk and tackle income inequality in today’s federal budget, says Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Senior Economist David Macdonald. “While there are some positive aspects to Budget 2017,” Macdonald says, “let’s not mistake this for the bold, visionary...
B.C. Liberals' electoral finance reform package doesn't amount to much
Last week Premier Christy Clark heard the four letters that every politician dreads, particularly when it's hitting close to home: RCMP. Only five days after announcing its investigation into the Globe and Mail's report that some lobbyists may have had their personal donations to the B.C. Liberal party and NDP reimbursed by...
Letter: FortisBC works with customers experiencing high winter bills
To The Editor: As our customers know, the winter season brings higher electricity bills given the home heating energy requirements compared to the rest of the year. During the mid-December to mid-February billing period, many parts of our electricity service territory experienced much colder than usual winter temperatures. ...
Is silence golden with respect to Columbia River Treaty?
In 2014-15, the Columbia River Treaty was on the brink of being the next big news story. The first possible date for either country to give notice of termination (September 2014) passed. Gradually, things went quiet. The Treaty didn’t seem like news any more. Conversations about the Treaty have not stopped, however. They...
