Union negotiators and the National Executive Board spent the last few days, and nights, reviewing the Employer’s last offers and preparing responses to issues in the offers and issues important to the Union that the Employer failed to acknowledge. On Sunday, the third day of a nationwide overtime ban, the parties met with Federal Mediation […]

A new Pope and an old question: must politics reject religion? The pursuit of politics is religion, morality, and poetry all in one.  — Madame de Stael Being Human, being spiritual, being political My last column was a rambling examination of democracy, because Canada was going through a federal election. Now we have a new […]

It’s tragic and frightening that we’ve reached a point where “geoengineering” is proposed as necessary to slow or reverse global heating. Many refer to it as an “emergency brake” or “last ditch effort.” The real solution is to stop extracting and burning fossil fuels and to protect and restore natural ecosystems — something we should […]

Question: With all the power outages in the past few weeks there have been a lot of intersections where traffic lights are out. Would you please remind everyone of the 4-way stop procedure that it seems most have forgotten or never learned. Oddly enough, this seems to be a difficult task for many drivers. Perhaps […]

Jubilation erupted in Genelle today as the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary’s (RDKB) East End Services Committee unanimously voted to reverse its previous decision and keep Genelle Fire Station 373 open. This hard-fought victory, a direct result of three months of relentless community mobilization, means the station will continue to serve, albeit under a conditional […]

Nelson has become the latest municipality in a growing legal movement across British Columbia demanding accountability from the world’s largest fossil fuel companies for the rising costs of climate change. With Nelson’s decision, over 390,000 British Columbians are now represented by local governments committed to a class action lawsuit to make Big Oil pay its […]

Last week my staff attended the 3rd third-annual West Kootenay Homelessness Response Summit in Nelson. The previous Summits were in Castlegar and Trail. This year the title was Cultivating Change: Planting Seeds of Action and Growing Together. 2025 West Kootenay Homelessness Response Summit | Selkirk College highlighted how our West Kootenay region is facing a pressing challenge: […]

It is fortunate that this type of collision is relatively rare because the consequences are severe. I am speaking of driving the wrong way on a divided highway or freeway. We received a driving complaint about once a month for someone driving on the wrong side of the Inland Island Highway when I was working […]

Homeowners and businesses in rural British Columbia will soon benefit from new water meters that will help small communities save water and increase resiliency during droughts, while lowering costs for people who use less water. “Drinking water is an incredibly precious resource,” said Brittny Anderson, Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities. “Small […]

Following last week’s federal election, Neighbours United congratulates all newly elected Members of Parliament in the Kootenays, across British Columbia, and throughout Canada. We urge our elected leaders to work together across party lines to ensure all Canadians have access to clean air and water, a healthy environment, and a strong economy. By caring for […]