Letter: PR levels playing field
To The Editor: One of the things that first attracted me to proportional representation, PR, apart from the fact that it just made sense, is that it is supported by people across the political spectrum. At my first PR meeting in 2004, I sat next to someone from the Canadian Rate Payer's Federation and Andrew Coyne was the...
Initiative Petition: 90 Days to sign against Site C
A BC voter has begun the next stage of an initiative petition process seeking to have the BC government cancel the Site C dam project; see this May 3 article first announcing the petition. The petition sheets were issued on July 3, so the proponent has 90 days to collect signatures. To move to the next stage of the process,...
City of Victoria wins lawsuit over plastic bag bylaw
More action on single-use plastic bags? Rossland City Council has stated that it was waiting for the outcome of the court challenge against the City of Victoria’s bylaw to ban plastic “check-out” bags. The Canadian Plastic Bag Association challenged the City of Victoria’s right to regulate plastic bags. Now the Supreme Court...
Knotweed costs us all -- please don't spread it by cutting or mowing it.
Knotweed is one of the scarier invasive plants. It doesn't cause burns or blindness, like Giant Hogweed, but it does spread very fast and it causes expensive damage to things like the foundations of buildings – and property values. It can burst right through pavement, take over lawns and gardens, and we have it right […]
Guest Editorial: Wilderness, or heli-playground?
Editor’s Note: Many people are not yet aware of the proposal to turn about 700 square kilometres of the southern Purcell Range into a heli-playground, cutting new trails and building lodges, with helicopter flights carrying in skiers in the winter and hikers and mountain bikers in the summer. The...
LETTER: In support of a 'no' vote in recreation referendum
To the Editor: We face an important decision on the June 23 referendum to approve two bylaws (2597 and 2598) that would raise the cap on RDCK recreation-related taxes to finance $22 million of a proposed $32.3 million enhancement of the rec centre and aquatic centre. This is an enormous 25-year tax burden for a relatively...
Another way to help: count bats
Volunteers are needed to help the flooded-out residents of Grand Forks. The Trail and District Chamber of Commerce is appealing to local businesses to send some employees to Grand Forks for a few hours to assist. Sandbagging efforts are winding down, but clean-up crews are needed. For people who would like to make a positive...
If BC won’t act for mountain caribou, the federal government will
Last Friday, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna declared an “imminent threat” to mountain caribou recovery, ordering the BC government to take immediate action to protect core mountain caribou habitat—or the federal government will step in and do it for them. Mountain caribou populations have been steadily declining since...
Stats Can data shows rental housing costs are pushing renters into crisis level spending
Nearly half of Canadian renter households are spending more than the recommended 30 per cent of their income on housing while nearly one in five are spending more than 50 per cent of their income on housing, putting a growing number of families and individuals at a crisis level of spending and at risk of homelessness. The...
Iniitiative Petition in the works to cancel Site C dam
British Columbia’s Chief Electoral Officer, Keith Archer, has granted approval in principle on an initiative petition application. The petition will be issued to proponent Ion Delsol Moruso on July 3, 2018. The title of the initiative is: “An initiative to cancel the Site C Dam project”. “This initiative petition application...
