In a budget that rewards the wealthiest British Columbians at the expense of all other citizens, Christy Clark maintained a billion-dollar tax cut for millionaires and created a slush fund with unfair MSP tax hikes. "This is not a budget for B.C. families,” said Katrine Conroy, MLA. “This budget continues the tax break for ...

The word “traumatized”is a fascinating and viciously misused word. You had a brutal experience? You saw something no one else should ever see? If you responded to it like a normal person, then you’re not ‘traumatized’, and we don’t need new words to describe it. You had the mother of all bad days, and that […]

“It is impossible to argue with a story that simply reflects the experience of the storyteller.” – Mary Pipher Climate change has aroused the concern of the human family for decades through scientific analysis, media attention, and letters to the editor. Yet because a reported three percent sliver of scientists do not believe...

Increasing corporate tax rates results in lower average wages for workers, finds a new study, released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. Corporate income taxes are ultimately paid for by individuals either as workers through lower wages, consumers through higher...

To The Editor: Canada drew upon its compassion during the Paris Climate Summit.  Knowing that if our carbon emissions continue unchanged, some of the earliest and most tangible consequences are to island nations in the southern hemisphere. They will be overwhelmed by the rising sea level, lives and livelihoods lost, and so ...

So apparently the latest trend is to declare ‘stupid’ a modern swear word. I actually heard a mom say to her toddler not to use the ‘s’ word, and had a reader call me out for cursing whenI used it. (I’m not sure where that leaves us in dealing with the other ‘s’ word, but […]

Federal transfers to the provinces and territories are at an all-time high, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank. “After accounting for inflation and population changes, federal transfers to the provinces are higher now than they have ever...

To The Editor: January 8, 2016   Premier Christy Clark PO Box 9041 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9E1   Dear Premier Clark: The Province’s upcoming submission to the National Energy Board regarding Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain proposal provides an opportunity for your government to show leadership on B.C.’s economic and...

One set of government statistics shows that the average incomes of Canadians in the lowest quintile of the distribution, the “poor”, remained constant during the period from 1990 to 2009. Another set of government statistics indicates that, over the same period, the “poor” enjoyed a 180% increase in income. The same two sets...

I’ve wracked my brain on this issue, but I can’t see any other way to get the government’s attention on this issue, the issue being what I perceive to be outrageous delays in IIO investigations of officer-involved fatal shootings in our area (for the background story, click here): I think the RCMP members in question […]