Incumbent MLA Katrine Conroy, in her own words
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...
Column: From the Hill -- Behind the scenes on that 'confidence motion'
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...
Open letter to Dr. Bonnie Henry: speading COVID-19 in prisons
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...
OUT OF LEFT FIELD: Halloweening happily despite Covid concerns - with a costume contest
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...
Column: COVID-19, school and climate change
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...
Letter: Distressed by early election
Editor, the Rossland Telegraph: I want to be wrong about this. I am only half certain. I think the BC NDP are heading for a defeat. Premier Horgan has watched New Brunswick's election result and drawn a conclusion, but he is wrong about British Columbians. We are not tolerant of crude political tactics to sustain his power...
Column: From the Hill -- What we need from Parliament now
Parliament begins its fall session this coming week and I have just returned from a week of meetings in Ottawa to discuss how that sitting will look—both in terms of how we will meet and the policies the government may bring forward in the Speech from the Throne on Wednesday. Throughout the spring and summer, the House of...
OP/ED: Landmark decision by BC Supreme Court protects public health care
In today’s landmark ruling in the Cambie Surgery Centre case, Justice Steeves dealt a strong blow to the efforts of Dr. Brian Day and others to undermine Canada’s publicly-funded health care system. The decade-long legal attack launched by one of the largest for-profit surgical centres in Canada sought to invalidate key...
Open Letter to Bill Ford, Superintendent, School District #20
I will start with one word, “unacceptable.” That is how I, and many others view your plan. The theory of it is sound, based on what we have learned with the various epidemiological crises of our times, beginning with the first SARS outbreak of 2003. There is no argument about the benefits of physical distancing, frequent...
Opinion: The CBT DRAFT strategic plan is worth looking at, talking about, and giving your opinion on – to CBT.
Columbia Basin Trust is a unique and amazing organization, with huge benefits to residents of the Columbia Basin. As most people know, it was set up in 1995 with a lump-sum settlement to help compensate the region for damage and losses caused by construction of dams under the Columbia River Treaty, which was signed in 1964,...
