New deal ends threat of school strike
Strike action at schools across the province has been averted with the announcement of a tentative deal between the province and school support workers, according to a press release issued today. "The provincial bargaining committee working with the British Columbia Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) and the unions...
LETTER: Residents band together to protect Pass Creek watersheds
Dear Editor: We are concerned citizens of Pass Creek, Robson and Raspberry who have united in a campaign to protect Pass Creek watersheds from the negative effects of road building and logging, and to preserve our scenic and wildlife corridor. The Rialto Creek/Ladybird mountain area provides domestic drinking and agricultural...
COMMENT: Referendums
As a dual citizen, Canadian and Swiss, I have the right to vote in Switzerland’s national referendums. In 2012 there were twelve referendums dealing with issues ranging from animal disease legislation to the application of the state’s gambling revenue earnings. In March of this year the Swiss voted in referendums concerned ...
COMMENT: Foreign Affairs progress report 1
Our party is committed to earning back Canada’s respect on the world stage so that we can win back our seat at the Security Council table. We want to project a bold and ambitious agenda for cooperation, and to build a more compassionate, peaceful and sustainable world. Since that work has already begun, I thought it might ...
COMMENT: Government has bad case of cold feet on local election rules
Whales have shorter gestation periods. For the third time since the Local Government Elections Task Force tabled its report, the B.C. government has been stricken with a case of cold feet. In 2010, the task force made 31 recommendations to improve local democracy, including: setting campaign spending limits for candidates; ...
CUPE issues press release; says schools on verge of shut down
CUPE’s talks with the BC Public Schools Employers’ Association will continue on Sept.16, but a lack of progress on a reasonable wage increase for education workers in BC’s K-12 system threatens to shut down the public school system. “We don’t have endless patience. Our members have been without a wage adjustment for four...
Come celebrate BC Rivers Day in Trail!
Trail residents will be coming together Sept. 29 for a festival-like event to clean up the Columbia. BC Rivers Day is celebrated province-wide, and the City of Champions is sponsoring a Shoreline Cleanup to help local people get involved with being good stewards of their waterways. City Councillor Eleanor Gattafoni Robinson,...
BC Education Minister speaks to back-to-school
This week more than half a million B.C. children are back in the classroom to continue their education journeys. While our youngest students are experiencing their very first day of school and Grade 12s are looking forward to the next phase in their lives, the first week back is a special time when everyone shares in the...
Minister`s visit to Lemon Creek meets with mixed reviews
A visit to the Lemon Creek spill site by B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak on Aug. 30 has not been met with universal approval from local residents. Polak spent several hours touring the area with RDCK chair John Kettle, who said meetings they held were in camera (not open to the public) because of ongoing litigation...
BC Chambers of Commerce join litigation to stop 'draconian' policy of US border officials
The BC Chamber of Commerce has joined litigation filed in a U.S. court to push back against border measures that pose a serious risk for B.C. businesses and tourists. Currently, British Columbians heading to the U.S. for business or tourism purposes face a border regime that empowers border guards, at their own discretion and...