The question of whether to abolish or to elect the Senate tends to flare up in the wake of a crass partisan appointment or a flagrant abuse of privilege. That question, however, should not be allowed to negate the question of the Senate’s purpose. We have examples in our history of legislation where, in retrospect, […]

The NDP’s stunning loss in B.C. is being deconstructed, dissected, analyzed and mourned over not only here but across the country. Every pundit and political junkie, including me, thought the NDP would win, even after their lead suddenly dropped. But unfortunately, most of the analysis won’t be very helpful for those individuals and organizations hoping […]

Dear Editor; To the free citizens of Kootenay West, I owe you thanks. From family and friends to the thousands who made their voice clear on the election ballot, thank you. I chose to step forward to represent you and the support I received was amazing. The calls, e-mails and talks on the street were […]

Sorry I'm a day late with this. On long weekends, I always confuse Sunday and Monday (see, TOLD you I was the ADHD poster child!) at any rate, I hope you find this recipe worth the wait! Thanks to Melissa for the original idea, which I tweaked to my family's taste (we like added heat and spice, and I put garlic in almost...

[Editor's note: This piece was posted to the Common Sense Canadian just before Tuesday's election, but in the wake of the surprising results, it's more relevant now than then] Good thing most people don’t listen to the polls. If they did, they just might throw in their cards and give up. The clearest indication yet that...

Well, that was just about the most bizarre election ever. Not on the local front – that came out exactly as expected, with incumbent NDP MLA Katrine Conroy taking a landslide victory with 10,606 votes (or 62.99 per cent of the popular vote), Liberal candidate Jim Postnikoff getting 3,592 votes (21.33 per cent), independent Joseph […]

On his return from an inspection trip to examine the results of the clean-up undertaken by Enbridge following an oil spill in Michigan, a Terrace municipal official was impressed with what he saw and experienced. He cautioned citizens to “dig into [the] facts who Enbridge is” when evaluating their proposal for the Northern ...

I’m so sorry I’m late getting this to you – believe it or not, I was trying to get a stuffed turkey in the oven early enough that we won’t be eating at 8 or 9 p.m. Do I know how to celebrate Mother’s Day, or WHAT? The shish kabobs would’ve been my first choice […]

Much has been written in the past year about the Harper government’s war on science. The almost daily drip, drip of abandoned environmental treaties, nobbled scientists and access denied to existing government science is a bit like Chinese water torture for those who believe government policy should be evidence-based,...

J.D. Salinger once said, “Mothers are all slightly insane.” … and I could not agree more.  I mean, we have to be, in order to put up with all the chaos that raising children brings.  It’s a 24-hour job that consists of playing the roles of chef, chauffeur, nurse, referee, janitor, therapist, and teacher all while demanding ...