Over 1,000 delegates from 189 municipalities and districts across B.C. are gathering this week in Victoria for the annual conference of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. And for many of them the recent appointment of Bill Bennett as Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development may very well seem like déjà vu. Bennett...

Talks have been replaced with information pickets after bargaining between the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) and CUPE Local 2262 broke down Friday. Unionized staff at the Nelson and District Community Complex set up information picket lines outside the entrance to the pool entrance Friday at 4 p.m. As this was...

This week's annual deer count showed a stable but declining population. The count on Tuesday, Sept. 18 came up with 154 deer living within the Grand Forks city limits. That is down from last year's 179. "We're seeing the deer level out -- they seem to have peaked," said Cher Wyers, Grand Forks councillor while chairing the ...

I live on a sailboat. My “backyard” is Georgia and Johnstone Straits. And, yes, I am a NIMBY. To anyone who wants to transport Alberta’s tar sands oil through BC’s pristine wilderness to load onto tankers, I say: Not In My Backyard. We all know what the dire environmental consequences will be if several hundred oil tankers ...

Ever since the BC Liberal government surprised residents of BC’s Kootenays with its March 20, 2012 approval for the controversial Jumbo Glacier Resort, people have been asking: Why now? After all, the Jumbo Resort proposal has been around since 1989 and has been successfully opposed by local people for more than twenty years....

With Parliament back in full swing I would like to reflect a bit on the 2011 general election which for several reasons was quite historic. The 41st Parliament obviously changed our party by thrusting us into the role of Official Opposition for the first time, but it also changed the face of the House of Commons, by making ...

Grand Forks can save millions in road repairs by doing some simple maintenance now according to a report received by council last week. In his road assessment report, Michael Trickey of Strategic Infrastructure Management Inc., explained to council at their meeting on Tuesday night that there are really only 12 kilometres of...

For the folks of 1987 the key ingredients for a time capsule included a rather large floppy disc, VHS tape of Rick Hansen’s world tour, school children’s letters, school yearbooks from both elementary schools, photos from around town, and Sears catalogues. The time capsule, sealed on the City of Grand Forks’ 90th birthday in...

Grand Forks members of the BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU), which includes people who work at Service BC and the BC Liquor store, joined the 25,000 other members in a province-wide strike today, Wednesday, Sept. 5. The union is currently in contract negotiations with the provincial government. They are...

Workers have always had to fight. From the time of the industrial revolution right up until today, the people who make the capitalist system work--those who do the work that produces the goods and those who are the consumers who buy them--have had to fight for a fair share of the profits. Capitalism works best when the people...