Column: From the Hill -- on the job back in Ottawa
On Sunday I returned to Ottawa to prepare for the opening of the 43rd Parliament. Last week I was given my shadow cabinet roles—critic for Natural Resources and deputy critic for Transport. I was the critic for Natural Resources for the last four years so know that file well, and issues of transport intersect natural resources...
DriveSmart BC: Reporting Commercial Transport Traffic Violations
A commuter asked "I would really like to see the article written about what to do when we see a commercial transport vehicle that is driving in an unsafe manner. You gave us a phone number to call that specifically relates to tractor trailers, and who to call when we witness a driving infraction. I see it on a regular basis...
Column: From the Hill -- a message from our re-elected MP
I want to start by saying that it’s a great honour and privilege to be re-elected as the Member of Parliament for South Okanagan-West Kootenay. I’ll continue to work hard to live up to the responsibility of that position. It was a hard-fought campaign, and the landscape of Canadian politics has shifted somewhat. We have a...
Letter: Remembrance Day message to young people
To The Editor: I had the privilege of growing up in The War Amps Child Amputee (CHAMP) Program which was started by war amputee veterans. Through Operation Legacy, which is made up of members of CHAMP, we pay tribute to the veterans who founded the Association and all those who have served our country. I have participated in...
Column: We owe Greta and the world's youth more than a Nobel Prize
Many people, including me, expected Greta Thunberg to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Instead, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali was deservedly awarded for ending more than 20 years of conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.Greta and the young people worldwide urging adults to care about their future don’t need a Nobel....
Column: Choose your government: Canadians and a perilous future
The moment, the prospects, the significance This is my second and final column on the federal election at hand. I write this feeling very uncertain about what Canadians want from politics. I have just recently told a friend in a conversation about the election – one of many – that I think conservatism in Canada is weak. But...
LETTER: Kudos to striking kids, federal parties need to step up
To the Editor, The Fridays For the Future youth strike last Friday was inspiring. Around the world, millions of youth and their supporters marched and demanded real climate action from the adults. By ‘real action’ I assume the youth mean action that avoids the forecasted global catastrophe and delivers the Paris Accord goal...
RANT: On cops, Crown, courts and criminalty - a wake-up call is required
I just published an article about prolific offenders that is going to have many locals feeling furious, and justly so. It’s about two local prolific offenders who, between the two of them, are facing 40 separate charges for crimes committed within a two-week span. Both have been arrested – within that time frame – at least ...
COLUMN: We must purge privilege from politics
Tackling climate change means purging privilege from politics Our national political arena often seems dominated by unproductive partisan potshots and misplaced accountability, with corporate interests prioritized over people’s. Behind the noisy partisan sniping, a quiet majority — 70 to 75 per cent of Canadians — is largely disengaged from politics, according to McAllister Opinion Research. […]
Editorial: What to do?
Current and anticipatory grief The reality of the continuing extinction of many so species is profoundly upsetting. Readers may wonder why old people should care. For example, I’ll be dead in a few years myself; it will be up to others to live their lives diminished by the loss of caribou and many other creatures, many...
