Ronald Allen Smith has the distinction of being the only Canadian on death row in the U.S. and, thanks to the resent rejection of his appeal by the U.S. Appeal Court, he is one step closer to execution. Smith, from Red Deer, Alta, admitted to and was convicted of killing two young men in Montana in 1982. He marched the two ...

In the midst of the current economic recovery, families in B.C. have had to resort to exhausting their life savings and, in many cases, borrowing money from credit and financial institutions to make ends meet. For a large number of constituents who find themselves unemployed, under-employed or recently laid-off, this often ...

I must admit, I wasn’t at all surprised to read that MP Alex Atamanenko didn’t consent to the agreement that Canada and the US came to concerning the American “Buy American” provisions (MP decries “Buy American” deal – Castlegar Source). After all, the NDP solution to the issue was to try and institute a foolish Buy Canadian...

With Parliament prorogued, the Harper government has been busy wrapping up a last-minute and lop-sided deal with the U.S. on how to handle the ‘Buy American’ provisions in their 2009 stimulus legislation. With just a few days left before the bidding was closed on the $275-billionUS stimulus fund, 98 per cent of which was...

The Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) program recently came to an end. By all accounts it was such a success that people are clamouring for the government to continue the credit for another year. New Democrats agree, and are calling for the credit to be maintained and enhanced to promote energy-efficient, green technology for...

I was recently having a discussion about the financial difficulties that the school boards around the province are facing, when it occurred to me that there is a rich wealth of possible tax income that is not currently being utilized. While the average homeowner is being taxed to the point of frustration on his meager property,...

It is hard to imagine that before the 1979 Soviet invasion, Afghanistan was a country where many ethnic groups and tribes lived in harmony with their neighbours. They had a subsistence economy and a central government. Unlike today, there was no sign of extremist-inspired suicide bombings or a heroin-based economy. It took ...

After all the time, resources and manpower spent in Afghanistan, it seems that the NATO forces are considering negotiation with the Taliban. Under normal circumstances this wouldn’t be a bad idea - if the Taliban was just another political party vying for control of their country. They are not. They are one of the most ruthless,...

The following is a press release issued by BC Citizens for Public Power , a grassroots, non-profit organization established in 2002, working to ensure that BC’s electricity system is publicly owned, regulated, and operated by and for the citizens of B.C., through mobilization, education, and advocac.yIt’s not easy being green,...

Dear Editor, I read with interest the Jan.21 article in the Western Producer about my Private Members Bill C-474, NDP MP’s Bill Worries Canola Industry. The article gives voice to the industry preference to avoid the market analysis of new GM (genetically-modified) cops being proposed by this Bill and presents a rather hollow...