The early response by First Nations and environmental organizations to the federal government’s “subject to” approval of the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project did not come as a surprise. What does surprise me is the absence of critical commentary about the project’s economic merits which are championed by governments and...

The Government of British Columbia is excluding federally-licensed medical marijuana production from the list of agricultural uses that qualify for farm classification for assessment and property tax purposes. The decision will ensure local governments do not lose potential property tax revenues from the Health Canada...

Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick and the B.C. delegation have returned home after completing a successful trade mission to China. The tour included several deals that could increase B.C.’s agrifood exports by about $100 million within a few years. The trade mission featured a strong B.C. presence led by Letnick and representatives...

Located in the heart of wine country, Naramata is prime territory for bears to roam. Naramata has been honoured for their exceptional collaborative approach to reducing human-bear conflicts as the sixth community in the province to achieve Bear Smart status. The Bear Smart Community program encourages local governments,...

Our Canadian school system is based on many principles, but one central theme is the concept of 'inclusion'. If you don't like the idea of Inclusion, of your child going to school with someone with autism, anxiety, downs, dyslexia, or other learning needs, then one of the private schools with rigorous screening-out processes...

Police are investigating what is believed to be a murder and attempted suicide after a report of a disturbance resulted in the discovery of a woman's body and an injured male Thursday evening. On June 19 at 6:12 pm, the Lumby RCMP received a report of a disturbance at a residence on the 300 block of Trinity Valley Road near...

The Sidney North Saanich RCMP would like to thank the public for their assistance in locating 17 year old Mikayla Savage.  Mikayla had been missing from Sidney since May 22. Mikayla was located safely in the Okanagan Region of B.C. and police have no further concern for her safety or well being.  Mikayla has been in contact...

Dear Prime Minister Harper: Based on the evidence presented below, we, the undersigned scholars, have concluded that the Joint  Review Panel’s (JRP) assessment of the Northern Gateway Project (the Project) represents a flawed  analysis of the risks and benefits to British Columbia’s environment and society. Consequently, the...

On one hand you can't fault the B.C. government for trying, but on the other hand their enthusiasm for it – consulting British Columbians on public policy and pending legislation that is – seems a little wanting. Gung-ho it's not. In the last year, there have been government white papers, discussion papers, no papers but input...

I cannot decide if I should laugh or cry in response to the Provincial government’s exasperating effort to come up with lock-out terms for teachers. The government’s objective is to entice teachers to accept its conditions for a new contract. How can restricting the teachers’ hours at work, reducing their income by an arbitrary...