This article is by Judith Lavoie, and is from DeSmog Canada Forestry has been a passion and a career for Martin Watts for 25 years, but, since attempting to point out problems with B.C.’s process for setting logging rates, his forestry consulting business has nosedived and Watts is claiming in a civil suit that he was blacklisted by the provincial government.

Selkirk College now has a Sexual Violence Policy in place making a clear commitment to creating and maintaining a safe and respectful learning, working and living environment. “The safety and well-being of our students and staff is of vital importance,” says Selkirk College President Angus Graeme. “This is an important step...

By Ben Parfitt.  This article is from DeSmog  Canada. A subsidiary of Petronas, the Malaysian state-owned petro giant courted by the B.C. government, has built at least 16 unauthorized dams in northern B.C. to trap hundreds of millions of gallons of water used in its controversial fracking operations. The 16 dams are among ...

Anyone hiking or biking on trails in our region may have noticed that many of those trails are being hemmed in by certain plants: burdock with its nasty burrs later in the year, spotted knapweed, common tansy, hoary alyssum, policeman's helmet (AKA Himalayan balsam) -- even, in some places, Japanese knotweed -- and other invasive species.  Yes, all those (and many more) are invasives, and they spread especially fast along the trails because we all unwittingly spread their seeds on our clothing, our bikes and our dogs' fur.

Last week, I posted an editorial criticizing negative campaigning, and posed questions for our local candidates to answer -- without mentioning other candidates or other parties. Here are two of our local candidates' answers to the first set of four questions; the third candidate, Liberal Jim Postnikoff, was unfortunately unable to respond in time. Where possible, I have looked through the Liberal platform and attempted to find the Liberal approach on the topics of the questions, and inserted what I could find.

VICTORIA– The writs have been issued for British Columbia’s 41st Provincial General Election. “Eligible voters can vote from now until the polls close on General Voting Day,” said Keith Archer, Chief Electoral Officer. “B.C. has the most accessible voting system in Canada, and we encourage all eligible voters to cast a ballot.”

What poses the greatest hazard to BC's endangered Southern Mountain Caribou -- habitat loss, wolves, or corporate donors?  Or are all three of those factors linked, and if so, how? This opinion piece is from DeSmog Canada.  Read and contemplate. The B.C. government is granting logging permits in critical caribou...

Over the past month I have visited most of the RCMP detachments in South Okanagan-West Kootenay.  While the conversations covered some of the obvious law and order issues such as marijuana legalization, rising levels of property crime and staffing levels for highway patrol, I was surprised that one issue dominated most of my...

 A recent documentary film, " A New Economy," explores what might happen if working together for the common good were to become the most common business model. Can the world be saved?  Can co-operation save us? Or can global capitalism, with its dependence on the infinite exponential economic growth demanded by return on...

It's income tax time. And the Canda Revenue Agency (CRA) wants to ensure that everyone knows that tax evasion schemes are illegal -- and can result in jail time.  One such scheme, called "Paradigm," has resulted in convictions and sentences for 32 people so far -- self-styled "educators" who promoted a fraudulent tax-evasion...