To the Editor: It used to be, and largely still is, considered an act of politeness to let others go first.  In the context of climate change and emissions reductions, this might be described as a rationale for inertia.  China and India are currently used to support that rationale.  Although China tops the emitters list,...

Hello to everyone in, and around, our community, We have just been made aware there are active cases of COVID-19 in Castlegar. We feel a responsibility to share this message and encourage the community to take immediate action to keep case numbers low. Right now we need to ramp up, and double our efforts, to avoid outbreaks...

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that the quarantine isn’t such of a much for me – I am, at heart, an introvert who rarely leaves her house, and now, instead of my friends being annoyed with me for it, they’re applauding me for it. It’s finally okay for me to prefer reading […]

Rossland author Rosa Jordan’s latest novel is a rich, varied and gripping read.  Its characters deal with life’s profound issues, including ambition, love, loyalty, illness and death – and Jordan handles them deftly, with generous compassion and a touch of humour. A list of suggestions from Kurt Vonnegut to writers included one advising authors to […]

Fourteen years ago I graduated from BCIT and was hired full time at the hospital in Trail repairing medical equipment. I moved here on my motorcycle and I immediately fell in love with life in the Kootenays. I met my wife here and we have three young kids age 4, 6, and 8. I enjoy biking, weight lifting, and spending time with...

I have been honoured to represent the West Kootenays as MLA since 2005 and for the last three years as British Columbia’s Minister of Children and Family Development, as well as Minister Responsible for the Columbia Basin Trust, Columbia Power Corporation and the Columbia River Treaty. I have had a variety of jobs which have...

I don’t usually go into the “inside baseball” minutiae of backroom politics on Parliament Hill—the battles over make-up of committees, opposition motions with poison pills, and filibusters—because, frankly, most Canadians aren’t concerned about these details.  They just want parliament to work for them, especially when so...

Dear Dr. Henry, Thank you profusely, Dr. Henry, for everything you and your ministry staff have done these past many months to safeguard British Columbians from the suffering of the global novel coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. I am a sixty-six year old Extinction Rebellion climate activist residing in Victoria, and am writing...

Halloween is a favourite holiday for many locals (myself included), but Covid-19 has brought a chillingly real kind of fear to the festivities. Does this mean we have to cancel Halloween altogether? Will this year be only a ghost of Halloweens past? Not at all – but we do have to get more creative than we ever have before to...

The global pandemic has created a unique and challenging back-to-school season. Many parents, guardians and teachers are struggling to balance children’s safety with education, all while keeping their households running smoothly.   It’s like nothing we’ve seen before. Many adults are rightfully focused on making sure the...