Since 2005, Eileen Delehanty Pearkes has researched and explored the natural and human history of the rivers of the upper Columbia River Basin.  She speaks frequently at conferences and symposia throughout the Basin on the history of the Columbia River Treaty and its effects on Basin residents.  She has recently completed a...

There has been a great deal in the news over the past few weeks about C-51, the government’s news Anti-Terrorism Act.  It is another one in a series of omnibus bills and contains 62 pages covering everything from expanding the mandate of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to allowing police to seize terrorist...

Editor: Canada – a powerful word that until recently brought with it images of world-class wilderness, functioning ecosystems, serious concern for climate change and a belief in a healthy economy AND a healthy environment. Where are we today? Here are just a few headlines from the last three years under Prime Minister Harper...

(Hon. Steve Thompson)  The purpose of this newsletter is to give you facts that with few exceptions can be corroborated that illustrate why nothing less than a complete overhaul of the management of our wildlife and wildlife habitat resource  can reverse the dramatic decline in many wildlife populations and the steady compromise...

(Hon. Steve Thompson)  Once again Minister Thomson I urge you to review an extremely weak argument that has resulted in the Gilpin Grasslands becoming an important motorized vehicle recreation area. None of the salient points in a letter dated Dec. 30, 2014 and signed by Assistant Deputy Minister Gary Townsend will stand up...

As many may already be aware, the Kootenays have a combination of geology and gas permeable soils that make homes and workplaces susceptible to high concentrations of radioactive radon.  It surprised me to learn that the radiation from radioactive radon gas found in homes and workplaces is estimated to cause 16 percent of the...

Government policies are normally designed to help citizens as they try to move up the economic ladder, not penalize them for trying. And on that one count alone, this week's budget from Finance minister Mike de Jong is an abject failure. In its budget highlights, the B.C. government presented four scenarios to bolster its...

The Conservative government accuses MPs who voted against their new “Agriculture Growth Act” as having no understanding of farming. However, this claim does not jibe at all with the farmers that I have spoken to who seem to think otherwise. The omnibus bill C-18 makes changes to nine different pieces of legislation in which...

NDP leader Tom Mulcair has recently launched a plan for affordable childcare in Canada.  It is no secret that Quebec has the most affordable childcare in the country, and Tom, as a former Quebec cabinet minister, witnessed the success affordable childcare played in helping families and boosting the economy of the province. ...

Ninety-nine per cent of the time, I’m incredibly proud of the Source, including our interactions on social media. We’ve used Facebook and Twitter to disseminate important public information, to reunite lost pets with their people, even to help find a missing child. Sadly, though, right now, I’m both embarrassed and ashamed by what is happening […]