Time to zip John Baird’s loose lips
It is hard to credit the latest statements and actions by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. On both Iran and Israel Baird seems to almost deliberately seek to humiliate both himself and the country he is supposed to represent on the international stage. Taking an ultra-orthodox rabbi (whose organization opposes any Palestinian...
Clark/Good: Like an Orphan’s Club charity event
The weekend promos had heightened the anticipation; what I thought would be the Davis Cup of Politics--BC’s top-rated talk show host Bill Good vs. the province’s top ranked politician, Christy Clark--would take to the air in Vancouver Monday. Maybe not the match of the year, but hopefully some hard-hitting serves and returns,...
COMMENT: Open government isn't about selling access at BC Liberal “power lunches”
IntegrityBC chastised the BC Liberals today for leaving the impression that they're selling access to Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Labour Citizens' Services and Open Government, through her presence at a $50 a plate Liberal fundraising lunch tomorrow in Surrey. “There's something incredibly oxymoronic about the minister...
The BC Liberals and the new prison: Same crap, same people, different motives
One should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity, in particular when it comes to politicians and government – case in point, the BC Liberals…As you heard here first, Christy Clark made the announcement yesterday that the Osoyoos Indian Band has been selected as the party who wins the opportunity to host a new ...
Old Age Security review a crisis of misinformation
Stephen Harper dropped a bombshell in Switzerland recently, and the repercussions are being felt across Canada. In his keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Harper said that Canada needs to find savings in the Old Age Security benefit because our aging population is growing more expensive to service. "Our...
Bow down Canadians, corporations are king
Two recent stories out of Ottawa underline the ongoing political and economic assault on ordinary Canadians. More Canadians are now working for low wages than at any time in decades, continuing a trend that began in the early 1990s, and Stephen Harper has announced major changes to retirement benefits — including delaying Old...
Local MP Atamanenko slams Harper's Old Age Security review
Alex Atamanenko, MP for BC Southern Interior, is angered by the Harper government's recent announcement that the Conservatives are looking at making changes to the Old Age Security pension. The government claims that the present system is becoming unsustainable because of the aging demographics of Canadians. Harper's surprise...
CBC programming to highlight “new” standards?
You heard it here first...and hopefully last! I’ve been thinking--always a dangerous and sometimes a quite cheeky intellectual exercise--and I’ve come up with a few new program suggestions for CBC’s next television season … featuring a “Revised” Program Standards Policy...
OP/ED: Northern gateway pipeline not in anyone's interest
Few without ties to oil industry could say with a straight face that the proposal by Enbridge to build the Northern Gateway pipeline over 800 fish-bearing rivers and streams is in the best interests of Canadians or that it meets the criteria of what constitutes sustainable development. It is impossible to ignore the significant...
IN REVIEW: Pentaedre puts wind instruments in the spotlight
After an evening of listening to the subtle and rich tones of the wind instrument quintet Pentaedre, I don't think I could go back to seeing those instruments stuffed in the back of an orchaestra pit where they can usually be found. The Grand Forks Secondary School auditorium was nearly full with both young and young-at-heart...
